The Walker King
by can08writer
Summary: When tragedy strikes, the Grimes family must find a way to survive Negan's brutal rule. A Grimes 2.0 story.
1. Chapter 1

_This story takes place during season 6, after the raid on Negan's outpost, and after Richonne became canon, but before the group realizes that there are more Saviors._

It was a beautiful day, and Rick and Carl were on a run in a neighborhood a few miles away from Alexandria. The community was running low on supplies, and there were other runs happening simultaneously as the residents tried to stock up for the winter. Rick had chosen to go on the run with Carl because he and his son had not had much time to spend together or talk after Carl accidentally found out about Rick's relationship with Michonne. Although Carl had told Rick he was cool with it, Rick hadn't had time to talk to Carl in any depth about it.

After the raid on Negan's compound, the capture and retrieval of Maggie and Carol, and the destruction of the rest of Negan's men, the people of Alexandria were elated. They had defeated Negan without any major casualties, and they would be getting most of their food from Hilltop as payment for getting rid of the Saviors, but they still needed other non food supplies, one of them being toothpaste. Rick was most desperate to find that one item because he happened to have a girlfriend who was obsessed with dental hygiene. And, if he gave her toothpaste, she'd give him a whole lot more.

As Rick and Carl pulled up to a particularly large home, Rick looked over at Carl who was watching the scenery out the window of the car.

"Hey, you ok?" Rick asked. "Yea" Carl mumbled, staring out the car window. Rick was a little nervous that Carl was somehow upset about him and Michonne. "Are we still cool?" Rick asked, eliciting a small smile from Carl. "Yea, we're cool dad" Carl said, slightly chuckling at his father. Rick nodded, relieved. He couldn't believe how much the opinion of a 15 year old boy mattered to him.

"So we're looking for things like toilet paper, sheets and blankets, maybe some toys for Judy, board games, obviously any medical supplies, toothpaste..." Rick started listing, but Carl suddenly burst out laughing, startling Rick a little.

"The toothpaste is definitely for Michonne" Carl laughed, giving Rick a knowing glance. Rick smiled, "Yea, you know she goes through them so fast".

Carl nodded his head. "I'll look for toothpaste first" he said, winking at his father.

Rick laughed out loud, glad he brought his son along. "Try to use the knife if you come across a walker, we don't want to draw any attention" he reminded Carl, as he stepped out of the Car. Carl followed him as they walked up to the house, Rick knocking loudly to draw any walkers to the door. They waited for a while, but no walkers came to the door, so they entered cautiously. Rick and Carl communicated silently, Rick taking the downstairs rooms while Carl went upstairs.

As Rick checked the living room and kitchen downstairs he didn't find much, it seemed that the house had been picked through by people already. As he approached the downstairs bathroom and opened the door he was shocked to see half a tube of toothpaste sitting on the bathroom counter. Rick quickly checked the front of the tube for the flavor. Spearmint and Baking Soda, Michonne's favorite. Rick grinned like it was Christmas and quickly stuffed the tube in the pocket of his jeans. His girl would be getting her toothpaste tonight.

Upstairs, Carl rummaged through a child's bedroom, looking for something useful to bring back to Alexandria. He found a box of crayons and a box of cards, and quickly stuffed them into his bag. He also took the sheets off the bed in the room which were covered in Disney Princesses.

 _Judith may like these when she's older._

He left the room and walked down the upstairs hallway, moving to the master bedroom door which was closed. He knocked on the door to the room to check for walkers and he didn't hear anything. He cautiously opened the door and entered the room which was a mess. The sheets were hanging off the bed as if a struggle had taken place and someone or something was dragged off of it, taking the sheets with them. There was a bucket of what looked and smelled like urine by the bed, as well as another bucket of what looked like vomit. It looked like the buckets had been there for quite a while, but they still smelled, and Carl was disgusted.

He saw a few mens shirts in the closet, as well as some women's clothes, so he quickly stuffed the clothing into his bag, when he noticed an unlocked gun box. Carl quickly opened the box and saw that the gun was gone, but there was still a box of bullets inside, with 3 bullets remaining. Carl took his gun out of the holster to see if the bullets would fit his gun, and was relieved to see that they did. Carl quickly shoved the extra bullets into his pocket and turned to leave the room when he noticed the bedroom had an attached bathroom. Thinking of Michonne and her toothpaste obsession, Carl, still clutching his gun, opened the bathroom door and almost crashed into a walker. The walker instantly turned on Carl, falling on top of him, trying to bite his face.

Carl screamed in shock and surprise and quickly pushed his arm with the gun up towards the walkers mouth. The walker struggled on top of Carl as Carl shoved the gun into the walker's mouth as a barrier between it's mouth and Carl's face.

Carl fired, sending the back of the walker's brains splattering into the air, creating a stinking red mist. Gagging from breathing in the remains of the walker's brain, Carl rolled himself out from under the corpse. He could hear Rick running up the steps full speed screaming his name. "Carl?! Carl!"

"I'm here dad" Carl called "I'm ok".

Rick burst into the room panting, his eyes wild. "What happened?" Rick screamed, but then he saw the walker on the bathroom floor. "Are you... are you ok?" Rick managed to get out, calming down a little. "Yea, it just caught me by surprise" Carl replied, pulling himself off the floor. Rick nodded, calming down just a little more.

"You scared me" he admitted "I... I'm glad you're ok". Carl patted Rick on the back and they both headed downstairs.

"So what'd you find?" Rick asked Carl. "Some clothes, some stuff for Judith, and 3 bullets" Carl shrugged.

"There wasn't much downstairs" Rick admitted, "except this". He proudly held out the tube of toothpaste. "I win" he said, taunting Carl childishly.

Carl laughed. "Good. Maybe she'll cook us something really nice tonight".

Rick smiled, as he stuffed the toothpaste into his jeans pocket, but he wasn't thinking about dinner. If bringing her mints got him the best sex of his life, he couldn't even imagine what would happen if he brought home her favorite type of toothpaste.

"There's another house down the block that looks like it's in fairly good condition, we should check that place too before we move on" Rick said. Carl nodded and they left the house, walking down the block to the next house.

Suddenly they heard the sound of a car engine coming towards them quickly. Rick pushed Carl down behind some overgrown bushes, just as a van sped around the corner. Rick quickly ducked down behind a hedge as well, but the van screeched to a stop directly in front of where Rick was hiding, and six men hopped out.

"Get out here" one of the men demanded. Rick didn't move, but he took his gun out of his holster. "Get the fuck out here now or we'll shoot" the voice shouted. Rick looked into Carl's eyes and held a finger up to his lips. Carl nodded understanding that the men hadn't seen him. Rick slowly stood, and walked over to the men, trying to draw their attention away from where Carl was.

"What are you doing out here?" The man asked.

"I'm just looking for some food" Rick answered, trying to sound desperate. "You have some food?"

The man looked at his buddies who chuckled. "Looks like you've been eating pretty fucking well to me. And taking showers too, not a fucking stain on your shirt, so you've been washing it. Alexandria must have some pretty fine washers and dryers huh?" The man asked.

Rick gaped at the man in shock. This man knew where he lived? Rick didn't know what to say. So he kept silent.

"Yea I know you" the man continued. "You're the leader of that place. We've been scoping it out for a week since y'all slaughtered our buddies".

Rick went pale. He had no idea there were any more Saviors left. They had thought they were finished. Safe. They were wrong.

The man read the horror on Ricks face. "What, you thought that was all of us?". The other men started laughing. "Oh boy, you people don't know shit do you?".

He moved closer to Rick. "Here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna come with us back to Alexandria, have your people open the gates, and we're gonna take some supplies back to Negan. Now, we're gonna have to kill one of you, that's just how this goes, but after that, we can be business partners".

Rick just stared, narrowing his eyes.

"The stuff we take, will go to Negan as a peace offering. It will be your first tribute to us. After that, you'll be required to give us a tribute every month. Half your supplies."

"And what do we get out of this deal?" Rick asked, just to humor the men.

"Protection. From us."

Rick bust out laughing, startling the men a little. They stared at him until he calmed down.

"No, see that's not gonna work for me. Or my people. So you can go run back to Negan if he's still alive, and tell him we won't be giving him shit".

The man shook his head. "You see, this ain't really negotiable. It's what's gonna happen. Now I'm trying to be real nice here and give you a chance to just go with the flow, but if you don't cooperate there's gonna be some real consequences"

Rick tensed up the hand holding his gun and said "that's not gonna happen". The man shook his head and turned to one of the men behind him. Without warning, the second man aimed his gun and fired at Rick.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note: This isn't a very happy chapter. Just a warning. Don't hate me!**_

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Carl was squatting behind some bushes. He could see his father and the man he was talking to, but the bushes blocked his view of everything else. He was too far away to catch the conversation, but he could tell by his father's body language that the men were threatening him.

Carl aimed his gun at the man who was talking, waiting for his father to give him any signal to shoot.

Something the man said made Rick tense up and move his hand to his gun, and Carl was ready. Carl was seconds away from firing on the man and giving his father cover to run when another man Carl couldn't see fired.

Time froze as Carl gaped at his father. Rick's head snapped backwards, throwing him off balance. His body fell backwards, hitting the asphalt in the street with a thud. He wasn't moving.

Carl couldn't move. He thought he was screaming but he couldn't be sure. He wanted to run to his father but his muscles weren't working, as if he were encased in cement. His mind was trapped in his body, and the two weren't communicating at the moment. He could only watch, like a horrified spectator, as the men moved to Rick's body and haphazardly dragged him into the van.

As they moved him, Carl saw the perfect red circle on Rick's forehead. They had shot him in the head. He was dead.

As the van pulled away, it was like the cement block Carl was trapped in had been broken. He let out a scream and fell on to the floor, his eyes blurred by sudden tears.

 _This isn't real. Is this a dream? A nightmare? Am I real?_

Carl bit his tongue and felt the pain. He was awake. He was real. This was real.

He couldn't see through the tears in his eyes, but he blindly stumbled into the street where his father just was. All that remained was a trail of blood drops that led to where the van had been.

Carl was lost in his grief. He knelt down in the street and stared at the blood, going into a trance.

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Michonne was on gate duty in Alexandria. Rick and Carl had gone on a run, and she knew she'd be at the gate waiting for them anyway, so she volunteered to finish Rosita's shift. She paced back and forth on the platform, watching the occasional bird fly by. It was a beautiful day out and the sun was shining, warming her skin, but something wasn't right. She could feel it. In her gut, in her soul. She took a few breaths.

 _Relax Michonne. It's the first time they've gone out together in a long time, that's why you're worried. They'll be ok. You're being ridiculous. We got rid of Negan's men, it's smooth sailing from here._

But even she didn't believe her words. After the raid she felt uncomfortable. She had a feeling that this wasn't over, it couldn't be that simple. And she was right, the remaining Saviors had captured Maggie and Carol. But even after they had gotten them back, it still didn't sit well with Michonne. She had always been a perceptive person, and her sixth sense was screaming at her, she just didn't know what it was saying.

As she sat, pondering what was making her so upset, a van and three other cars made their way down the road towards Alexandria's front gates. "Weapons!" Michonne yelled, and everyone in earshot took positions on the wall, pointing their guns at the unfamiliar cars. The cars parked in front and men got out.

There was silence for a while, each group waiting for the other to say something. Finally, one of the intruders spoke. "We're here with a message from Negan" the man yelled at the closed gates. Michonne's blood ran cold. She was right, it wasn't over. She heard a few gasps from the other people on gate duty.

"You attacked us and stole from us. That's not gonna go down well. But you do have some choices. You can open these gates, take your ass kicking like a champ, let us take our share of your supplies, and live another day. Or..." the man paused to be dramatic "we knock the gates down, fuck up your shit, kill some _more_ of your people, and take our share of your supplies".

Michonne's stomach was doing backflips. The way that this man said 'kill some _more_ of your people' was searing itself into her mind. Who did they kill before?

The other Alexandrians were looking at Michonne to respond. She realized that with Rick off on a run, she was technically in charge. _Great._

"We're not opening the gates" She yelled down. "But you can send Negan and we will meet with him to discuss..."

"Not happening" The man cut her off. "I see you people aren't very quick on the uptake. We are gonna get your stuff, no matter what you do. We are trying to not have to kill you. We'd rather work with you. But stubborness has it's consequences" the man said, gesturing with his head to some of the men behind him.

The men opened the back door of the van, and Michonne signalled everyone to get down, thinking they were going to pull out some kind of weapon.

She could see the men dragging something... _a person... with Rick's clothes on... Rick?... Rick!_

Michonne gasped in horror. The men dragged Rick to the front of the gates and dropped him in a heap. He didn't move, he didn't flinch. Michonne grasped her chest. She couldn't breathe.

"This is what happens when you're stubborn. Now, usually we'll come in there, kill one of ya so you know we're serious, and take your stuff, but luckily one of ya is already dead. So all that's left is taking your stuff, and then we'll leave you to your own devices until it's time to come back".

At the words 'one of ya is already dead', Michonne felt something take over her. She wasn't thinking, wasn't reasoning, just reacting. She stumbled down the ladder of the platform she was on in a haze. She had tunnel vision, with only one goal.

 _He's not dead. I have to see he's not dead. I have to get Rick. I have to save Rick._

As she made her way to the gate it felt like she was floating, she couldn't feel or sense her legs moving. She couldn't hear anything, and she couldn't see anything but the gate. Suddenly, a hand closed around her upper arm. She spun around. It was Eugene, trying to stop her.

In her haze she unsheathed her katana and leveled it at Eugene's neck. He quickly let go of her and she proceeded to the gate. Using the last of her willpower, she mumbled in a raspy voice, to a stunned Sasha "lock it behind me".


	3. Chapter 3

Carl stared at his father's blood on the ground for what could have been hours. He had lost track of time, he had lost track of everything. His mind was blank, and his body was stiff. A walker stumbling towards him finally pulled him out of his stupor, barely. As the walker dragged itself towards him, Carl unsheathed his knife and held it towards the walker's face. The walker tried to bite Carl's arm and Carl used the walker's own momentum to easily impale it in the head.

Carl then dropped his arm and continued staring.

Why did they shoot him? How did they find us? They seemed to know we were here.

Carl thought back to the moments before the van came speeding around the corner. His gunshot. They must have heard him shoot that walker in the house.

That's how they knew we were here. That's how they found us.

His father had told him to use his knife, to not draw attention, but he used his gun. In the moment when the walker was so close, it was just the easiest weapon to use, but he had drawn the attention of those men. And now his father was dead.

It was as if a dam broke inside of Carl. Tears exploded from his eyes, causing him to sob loudly. He fell on the ground next to the walker and crawled up into a ball.

He's dead because of me. It's my fault. I drew the men here. I could've stopped them but I didn't shoot. I just hid there as they took him. It's my fault.

Carl cried until no more tears were left. He slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position. The guilt he felt was overwhelming. He stood up, brushing pebbles and dirt off of his pants, and he aimlessly started walking. He didn't know where he was going, he just had to leave the site of his father's death. He had to go.

He couldn't go back to Alexandria. He couldn't tell them what happened. He couldn't face Michonne and tell her that he stood by and did nothing and Rick died as a result. He couldn't face Judith and know that she was fatherless because of him.

Carl just picked a direction and started walking.

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Michonne slid through the barely opened gate and Sasha quickly closed it behind her. Ignoring Negan's men who were staring at her in disbelief that she left the safety of the walls, she approached Rick's still body, praying she'd catch a breath, or his eyelids twitching. Some sign of life. As she got closer, she could see a quarter sized hole in his forehead.

It felt like her heart stopped. Suddenly, she heard a high pitched scream, shrill and haunting as it echoed. She knew that scream. It was the same scream _she_ had made when she'd found Andre's half eaten body. It took her a moment to realize that the scream was coming from her.

She fell to her knees in front of Rick grabbing his face and pressing her cheek against his. "No... no... no..." she cried over and over, sobbing.

"Please Rick, please don't leave me... please..." she begged, pressing herself against him. "Rick... I need you... please". She seemed lost, unaware of anything else happening around her. She lifted Rick's lifeless head and rested it on her knees, leaning over him to kiss his face, stroke his hair, and rock him, as her tears ran down his cheeks. She wailed loudly.

Sasha, who was watching this heartbreaking scene called to the others on the wall who were staring in horror, "Cover her!". Only Father Gabriel responded, nodding and aiming his gun at the man closest to Michonne.

The Saviors were watching Michonne with mixed expressions. Some with amusement, some with genuine sadness, and others looked restless.

The man who was speaking for Negan yelled at the people on the wall again. "Open the gates. Let us get our stuff, and then you can bury your leader."

There was no response from the people on the wall. The only sound that could be heard was Michonne's sobs.

The man pointed to Michonne and said to his men "bring her over here". Three men started walking toward her, reaching out to grab her arms. With lightning quickness, Michonne leaped up, crouching over Rick's body to protect it. Before the men could respond, she sliced off the hand of the man reaching for her arm, causing him to fall backwards, screaming. She spun around and got enough momentum to behead the man next to him. The third man shot his gun at her but he missed, and she promptly stabbed him in the heart.

Everything happened so quickly that the Saviors just stared in shock. Before they could return fire, Father Gabriel aimed at the leader and shot him in the chest. That seemed to startle the rest of the shocked Alexandrians out of their stupor and they also opened fire on the Saviors, giving Michonne enough cover to drag Rick's lifeless body to the gates. Sasha opened them again and helped Michonne drag Rick in before closing them.

As the people on the wall tried to hold off the Saviors, Michonne just kneeled next to Rick's body, staring at Rick's face. Her locs were covering the majority of her face, but her eyes were glazed over with tears. Sasha whispered to her "let me help you take him home".

Michonne didn't answer, she just continued to stare at Rick. Just when Sasha was going to repeat the request, Michonne said in a hoarse voice "Where's Carl?".

Sasha's eyes got wide. Michonne, seeming to partly come back to her senses said, "We have to go back out. We... we have to find him". Michonne promptly stood up and turned, reaching to reopen the gates. Sasha leaped up and grabbed both of her shoulders, stopping her from opening the gates.

Michonne whirled around glaring at Sasha, and Sasha held up both hands. "Michonne, please, you're not thinking clearly, you can't go back out there right now. You can't open those gates. We will find Carl, as soon as we get rid of these men, Daryl and Carol and I will go out there and find him. We will. You're grieving right now Michonne, let us help you".

Michonne stared at Sasha with fire in her eyes, and then as quickly as the fire was there, it was gone, replaced by sorrow. Her lips trembled and the tears started to spill from her eyes again.

Sasha reached out, wrapping her arms around Michonne's shaking shoulders, simultaneously gesturing to Eugene to find someone to move Rick back to his home.

As Michonne, escorted by Sasha, walked away from the battle raging on with the Saviors outside of Alexandria's gates, Michonne's heart and family was in tatters.

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Carl walked and walked, not paying any attention to where he was or where he was going. He tripped multiple times, scraping his hands and knees, but he couldn't feel the pain or the blood. He couldn't feel anything.

When he finally became aware of his surroundings once again, he had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there. He was on a country back road, surrounded by forests on both sides, with no houses in sight.

As his awareness of his surroundings increased, so did his awareness of his body. He could suddenly feel the pain in his hands and knees from scraping them on the ground, he could feel his stomach growling, he could feel his feet aching, and last but not least, he could feel his heartache for his father.

Tears threatened to fall from Carl's eyes again, but he wiped them away.

I need to find somewhere to stay until I figure out what to do.

He continued down the rural road, which was turning more into a dirt road than a paved street. He walked for a few more minutes until he came across an abandoned house that looked like it had been unoccupied even before the apocalypse.

Carl walked through the open door which was slightly off the hinges and pulled out his knife. He could immediately see that there were no occupants in the house and there hadn't been for a long time. Plants were starting to grow in the cracks in the floor, and the ceiling had holes where the roof leaked when it rained.

Carl slid a rotten chair underneath the doorknob to stop intruders from entering, and plopped down on the filthy floor. As he stared at the dirty, rotting house he felt it was what he deserved for being a coward. He reached into his bag, pulled out an apple and hungrily ate it. He then took out the Disney Princess sheets that he had picked up for Judith, and wrapped it around his shoulders.

I can't go home. I can't face them.

Carl's mind went back to when his father tried to prepare him for this world. He tried to explain to Carl what would happen.

"People are gonna die, I'm gonna die, mom, there's no way you can ever be ready for it. I try to be but I can't. The best we can do now is avoid it as long as we can, keep one step ahead."

His father was so right. Carl wasn't ready to face Michonne and Judith yet, but he would try to keep one step ahead of death. That was all he could do.

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The shoot out at the gates continued for a few more minutes. The Saviors weren't at an angle to do much damage to the people at the gates, and six of their men had been taken out already. They started to retreat, using their cars and the trees as cover as they ran away.

The Alexandrians were relieved that they'd won their first battle, but they were sure that the war was not over.

Sasha took Michonne back to she and Rick's home and sat her in the kitchen while Eugene, Abraham and Glenn carefully carried Rick's body back and laid him down in the living room. Sasha had separated Michonne from Rick because she thought being around his body might be too much for her. Michonne was crying hysterically when Sasha first brought her in, while Sasha hugged her and rubbed her back.

Maggie, Rosita, Carol and Daryl soon showed up, with the men staying in the living room with Rick while the women crowded into the kitchen to console Michonne.

After a while, the flow of Michonne's tears slowed and she was able to speak. "I need to see him" she whispered hoarsely.

The women, knowing they couldn't stop her anyway, held on to Michonne. Maggie held one arm, Sasha held another, and Carol and Rosita rubbing her back, as she slowly made her way into the living room. The men moved out of the way as Michonne kneeled down next to Rick's body that was laid out on the couch.

She reached out and held one of his hands, while running her fingers through his curls with the other.

As she gazed down at him, something caught her eye. She could see something plastic sticking out of his pocket.

She reached out and slowly pulled a half full tube of toothpaste from his pants, Spearmint and Baking Soda. A smile crept across her face and she laughed, even as more tears poured from her eyes.

She leaned over and kissed his lips, and then whispered in his ear "Thank you baby, I love you too".


	4. Chapter 4

An hour after the shooting stopped, Daryl, Carol, Sasha and Abraham piled into a vehicle, prepared to go find Carl. Before they left the house, a grief stricken Michonne looked up from where she was keeping vigil by Rick's body.

"Find him" she said, her voice hoarse from crying, "please". They gave her one last hug before they left. As they pulled away from Alexandria they were on high alert. They now knew the Saviors knew exactly where they were, and they had already killed Rick. Rick's son would be a great prize for them. They knew that if the Saviors were holding Carl hostage or had any knowledge of where he was, that information would've been used to get in to the gates. It gave them hope that Carl was still alive.

They drove to the neighborhood that Rick and Carl had been searching, everyone holding on to their weapons as they drove.

"We're gonna start with the houses over here 'n' work our way down the block" Daryl said. "When you're walkin' through the yards look for trampled grass or footprints. And when you're callin' him don't be too loud. We wanna let him know that we're here but we don't wanna draw no one else".

They discreetly parked the car in the woods before they began canvassing the neighborhood on foot. Daryl and Carol went off to check houses on one side of the block as Sasha and Abraham went to another. After twenty minutes they met up, and neither group had found evidence of Carl. They moved off to the next block repeating the process.

Abraham and Sasha entered a house on the next block. "Carl?" Sasha called as she entered. She heard no response. "I got up, you got down" Sasha whispered to Abraham as she made her way up the stairs. The house was fairly empty, as if picked through by multiple groups before.

She quickly checked each room in case Carl was hiding out. As she opened the door to the master bedroom she was startled to find a walker that had been shot in the head. The blood was still wet. It had been put down that same day. "Abraham!" She called, " I found something!" He quickly ran up the stairs and met her in the bedroom.

"Well shit" he said "you think it was Carl?" "Maybe, get Daryl". Abraham ran out and a few minutes later came back with Daryl and Carol. Daryl checked out the walker and said " this happened a few hours ago, if it was Carl maybe he's still close". They checked the house for more clues and then moved outside where Carol spotted dried blood droplets beside a walker that had been knifed in the head, in the street.

"Something happened over here, look!" she pointed. Daryl crouched down by the droplets and followed them down the street where the trail abruptly stopped.

"Whoever was leaving that blood trail got into a car. The trail just stops." Daryl said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So what do we do?" Abraham asked.

Everyone looked around quietly. "Ok, let's check the woods and see if we can find anything else".

The four split up into groups of two again, combing the woods for any signs of Carl. They searched for an hour, with neither group finding anything.

"Shit" Abraham swore. "The kid's gotta be out here somewhere".

"We ain't givin up" Daryl snapped. "Sasha and Carol, you two drive up this road see if u can catch him walkin'. Me n' Abraham will keep lookin' for trails. We'll meet you back here in a half hour".

"Ok" carol responded, as she got behind the wheel with Sasha riding shot gun.

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A half hour later the two groups met up again. "Please tell me you found something" Sasha asked Daryl, her eyes pleading for something, anything.

Abraham stared at the ground, and Daryl's eyes flicked over to Carol's, undoubtedly remembering the last time he went looking for a lost child, her child, and found nothing.

Daryl could tell Sasha knew his answer before he said it, but he looked down and whispered "we ain't find nothin'".

Carol's eyes filled with tears that she quickly pushed away. "It doesn't mean anything. Carl's a resourceful boy and he's used to being out here. He'll be ok. The sun is setting, he'll probably find a house to hold up in overnight. We'll come back first thing in the morning. We'll find him".

No one spoke. Carol was right, they had to get back before dark. With the Saviors nearby, driving down the roads with their headlights on would be a calling card for trouble. But no one wanted to be the first to move, to admit defeat for now, to leave Carl out here in the dark all alone after the death of his father.

Carol spoke up. "Let's go, there's nothing else we can do now".

Sasha mumbled "who's going to tell Michonne?"

Everyone froze again.

Carol swallowed and said "I will".

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Michonne sat on the floor of her living room, stroking Rick's hand. People had come in and out of the house to whisper "I'm sorry", "I'm here if you need anything", "We're here with you", but she had ignored them. She didn't even look up to see who was speaking. After a while, the crowds had left her to tend her dead lover in peace. She knew Rosita, Tara, Glenn and Maggie were in the kitchen with Judith, but they finally had let her be alone with the man who had saved not only her life but her soul.

"Rick" she whispered "I can't do this without you. I can't do this without Carl. I don't even know where he is. If he's alive... I'm not strong enough to do this again".

She paused as if waiting for him to say something, but his face stayed frozen and emotionless.

Maggie walked into the room slowly, as if unsure if doing so was wise. "Judith is getting sleepy. Would you feel better with her sleepin' here, or do you want us to take her to our house until... until Carl comes back?"

Michonne finally looked up at another human being after staring at Rick for hours. She moved to stand up, and Maggie gave her an arm, helping her stretch her cramped legs from kneeling.

"I want to see her" Michonne said. Maggie led the way back into the kitchen, where everyone promptly looked up at Michonne. She reached her arms out to Judith, who looked like she was on the verge of a sleepy crying fit. As soon as Michonne held her, Judith settled down, laying her head on Michonne's shoulder and wrapping her arms around Michonne's neck, preparing to fall asleep.

Michonne began singing hush little baby to Judith as she paced up and down the kitchen, rocking her to sleep. As Judith went limp in her arms, Michonne whispered to her.

"Your daddy loved you so much. So much..." she let out a whimper as fresh tears started. "He loved you, and Carl, and me... and he'll always be here with us. Watching over us. When Carl comes back, we'll bury him, but he'll always live inside of us. As long as we remember him. And we will."

Once Michonne was sure Judith was fast asleep, she handed her back to Maggie. "Please take her tonight" she said. Maggie nodded and she and Glenn gave Michonne another hug as they made their way home.

Tara and Rosita stayed at the table, sipping coffee. "You can go too" she said to them.

"We're not going anywhere" Rosita said, "we're staying here with you".

Michonne nodded and turned back to the living room to rejoin Rick on the couch.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

As Daryl pulled the car into Alexandria's gates, the people on watch excitedly rushed over, relieved that they had finally returned with Carl. When just the four of them got out the car the relieved looks turned to those of horror and sadness.

Carol took a deep breath, steeling herself for being the bearer of bad news as she marched over to Michonne's house. As she walked she felt someone behind her. She turned her head and saw Daryl.

"You don't have to come" she said, "I can do it". "You can" he said, gently grabbing her hand as they walked. Carol didn't protest, so Daryl held her hand until they got to Michonne's porch.

He let go as they walked up the steps, knocking on the door. Carol could hear someone running over and the door flung open, revealing an excited Michonne. When she saw it was just Carol and Daryl she looked at them slightly confused, looking for Carl.

"Is he in the infirmary?" she asked. Michonne stared into Carol's eyes and immediately realized they didn't find him.

She breathed in sharply and clutched her chest.

"We think he's still alive" Carol began "we found two dead walkers that he could've killed, we'll go back out as soon as the sun comes up..."

But Michonne was no longer listening. This was more than she could take. Still clutching her chest, she began walking back towards the living room when her legs gave way and she collapsed on the floor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carl sat in the dark, on the floor of the dilapidated house, staring at the wall. His legs were curled up against his body and he rested his chin on his knees. He had cried so much that no more water would drop from his eyes, so he finally closed his eyes and drifted into a restless sleep.

When he woke up it was just before dawn, and the sky was still black. The house was cold due to the many holes in the roof, windows, and doors, and the princess sheets that he had surrounded himself with were so thin they weren't providing much warmth. His whole body felt stiff from sleeping in such a strange position, and he struggled to stand. Gathering up the sheets and stuffing them into his bag, Carl left the cabin and began to walk.

He wandered through the woods for hours, and finally stopped when the sun was high in the sky. The only thing that stopped him was his thirst and his gnawing hunger. He must've walked miles in the hot sun, and he hadn't had a drink since the morning of the day before. His crying had made him dehydrated as well.

As he laid back against the stump of a tree he considered giving up. He considered just closing his eyes and laying there as long as he possibly could, letting whatever would happen happen. As his eyes closed, his father's voice popped into his brain, as if Rick was sitting right next to him.

"The best we can do now is avoid it as long as we can. Keep one step ahead."

Carl sighed. He tiredly pushed himself up from the ground, and stumbled forward onto a road.

In the distance he heard a noise, a rhythmic beating that was getting louder and louder. As quickly as he could manage, Carl shuffled off the road. As the beating sound approached, Carl realized it was horse hooves.

Two men on horeseback were quickly approaching. The men wore some type of armor, maybe riot gear, like what Glenn had at the prison. The thing that impressed Carl about them was their swords. Not katanas like Michonne had, but swords like knights.

Figuring that these were not the same men that had attacked his father, and he had nothing left to lose, Carl stepped out into the men's view. They immediately spotted him and slowed down.

"Whoa, whoa" both of them said to their horses. They stopped a few feet in front of Carl and drew their swords. "Who trespasses in the territory of the Kingdom?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daryl carried an unconscious Michonne into the room that used to be her bedroom. He gently laid her on the bed, propping a pillow under her head. Rosita and Tara helped remove her boots and pulled the comforter over her body to keep her warm.

"I can't imagine what she's going through" Rosita whispered as they shut off the lights and returned to the living room.

"What are we gonna do with Rick tonight?" Daryl asked. "We can't just leave him here like this".

"We'll just cover him" Carol replied. "Michonne should decide what happens, when she's ready"

"Y'all go on get some sleep" Daryl said, "I'll stay here with him".

"I'll stay too" Carol replied.

"No. Go get some rest, we gotta be up early to go get Carl, I can handle it" he muttered, avoiding her eyes.

Carol could tell Daryl was holding back tears and he didn't want her to see. "Ok" she said, leaning in to kiss him on the forehead, and then she, Tara and Rosita went home.

Daryl got a sheet from the linen closet and draped it on Rick's body up to his neck. He couldn't bring himself to completely cover his face. Daryl stood over Rick for a moment, holding the sheet. He then put the sheet down and sat on the floor next to the man he called his brother.

"I'm sorry man" Daryl cried, his voice breaking. "I should've been there with you. You didn't deserve to die like that. And I'm sorry about Carl... I couldn't find him. But I promise I will, I won't stop lookin', I'll stay out there till I find him. And I'll always watch out for your family, like they're my own. You know that. You're my brother."

Daryl spent the rest of the night sitting on the floor, guarding Rick's body.

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At 5:30 a.m, just as the sun was about to rise, the guards on wall duty heard approaching vehicles. "Weapons!" someone called. All the guards raised their weapons. Six cars and a yellow school bus rolled up to Alexandria's gates. Men piled out, pointing their weapons at the wall. One of the men walked up to the front of the gates with a baseball bat.

"Good morning!" he yelled in a cheery voice "I've heard a lot about you people, so I thought I'd stop by and meet you for myself. Hi, I'm Negan".


	5. Chapter 5

Glenn, who was on gate duty that morning, looked down in contempt at the man who said he was Negan. He yelled down "Yea we've heard that before. You're not the first person who's claimed to be Negan. You're also not the first one to try to get past these gates, and you see we're still here".

Negan smiled from where he stood. "I see the stories about Alexandria haven't been exaggerated. Even after my men killed your leader, you're still stubborn as fuck. It's cute, really, but I don't wanna kill you folks. Open the gates and we can begin our business partnership on the right foot".

Negan stood there, half expecting them to do what he asked. That's what happened at the Hilltop, and even the Kingdom. But no one from Alexandria moved a muscle.

Negan sighed. "My father used to tell me 'those that don't hear, feel'. I think that applies to this situation. If you people are still too stubborn to listen, we'll need to show you we're serious".

Negan reached into his pocket pulling out a grenade. He pulled the pin and heaved it over the wall.

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Michonne snuggled deeper into Rick's arms and rested her head against his chest as he slowly ran his fingers up and down her naked back. He felt so soft and warm, she could just lay there forever.

"Comfortable?" he chuckled, looking down at the top of her head. "Mmmhmmm" she moaned, too tired to talk.

"Me too" he whispered, "I never thought I'd feel like this again. So complete. Like... like I'm home"

Michonne moved her head so she could look up at him. "You are home. When you're with me we both are".

Rick pulled her even closer to him. She rested her head on his chest again, listening to his heart beat.

"Yes, we're home now, but you can't stay here forever" he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You're gonna have to wake up"

"I don't want to. I want to stay here with you"

"I know you do, but you can't. Not yet. You have things to take care of. People. They need you."

"I need **you** "

"You can do this Michonne. Now wake up. WAKE UP!"

An explosion shocked Michonne out of her sleep. She leaped out of bed, completely confused and disoriented about where she was and how she'd gotten there. She realized she was in her old bedroom. Although she was confused about how that happened, she ran to the bedroom door and threw it open, almost crashing into a panicked Daryl.

"Did you hear that?" she said, her eyes wild. "Yea" he grunted, "came from the gates". Daryl turned and ran towards the front door as Michonne quickly shoved on her boots, grabbed her katana which someone had placed next to her by the bed, and ran into the living room, almost forgetting Rick's body was there.

She skidded to a stop as she saw him now completely covered by a sheet, and all of her feelings from the day before quickly rushed at her.

Rick is dead. Carl is missing, maybe dead too.

She was tempted to turn around and crawl back into bed, to continue her dream where Rick was still alive and all was well with the world. She was tempted to return to her spot on the floor in front of Rick's body, and shut everything else out but her sorrow. But she couldn't do that.

You have things to take care of. People. They need you.

Unlike the last time she had lost everything, she now had people to live for. People who depended on her. Even if they never found Carl, she had to live for Judith. Even if she didn't want to. Even if it was hard. Right then and there she made a vow that as long as Judith was alive she'd keep fighting. She'd do whatever it took to keep her alive.

Michonne dragged her eyes away from Rick's body and ran towards the explosion. One of the houses closest to the gates was on fire. Daryl was already there, trying to ask a group of people if anyone was inside. It seemed no one was.

"What's going on?" Michonne asked, running up to Daryl. "Someone threw a grenade over the gates. Probably Negan's people again"

Suddenly Michonne could hear a man yelling outside of the gates. "You ready to cooperate now? Or you still wanna be fucking stubborn?"

Michonne and Daryl ran over to Glenn who was perched on the look out platform. "He wants us to open the gates" Glenn yelled down. "He says he's Negan".

"Don't open shit" Daryl yelled.

"You brought this on yourself!" Negan screamed "I was willing to work with you. All you had to do was follow the fucking plan. Now I see you've got to fucking go." Negan turned to his men. "Keep tossing them in until there aren't any more left. We're going to burn the place to the ground".

Grenade after grenade was thrown over the wall. Everyone on gate duty scattered, trying to get out of the killzone. The explosions rocked Alexandria, setting houses on fire. Michonne, Daryl, and Glenn sprinted towards a house that was on fire. People were screaming inside. Luckily the occupants ran out as soon as Glenn threw the door open.

"We need to get Maggie and Judith to the church, it's the furthest place from the walls, right in the middle of town" Glenn said, and they all ran off towards Glenn and Maggie's house. Maggie was already on the porch, holding a screaming Judith.

"What is happenin'?!" she yelled "what's explodin'?"

"Grenades. It's Negan. Get to the church!" Glenn yelled. Michonne took Judith from Maggie, and Glenn grabbed Maggie's arm, pulling her towards the church. Just as they all got off the porch, the house exploded, throwing them all to the ground.

As she fell, Michonne instinctively turned to land on her side so she wouldn't crush Judith, but she dislocated her shoulder from the impact.

Michonne quickly checked over Judith to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Take her!" Michonne yelled to Daryl "I can't hold her, my shoulder is hurt". Daryl scooped up Judith and Michonne pushed herself up with her other arm. Glenn pulled Maggie up and they continued running to the church. When they got there, practically all of Alexandria had gathered there with the same idea.

"Why are we under attack?" someone yelled.

"Is this Negan's men again?" someone else asked.

"It's Negan" Glenn answered "they won't give up until we open the gates"

"So let's open them. They already killed Rick because he was stubborn, they did God knows what to Carl, they'll burn the town down. Maybe if we cooperate _we_ won't end up dead!"

Michonne grew cold at those words. "Grow a damn backbone" she snapped "If they could get in here they'd already be in here".

As she spoke those words there was a huge crash. Everyone ran out of the church to see what new horror awaited them. Michonne got to the door of the church just in time to see a speeding yellow school bus fly through town, dragging the front gate behind it.

"Shit!" Daryl yelled "They're in"

People poured out the church to start the battle against the Saviors. Michonne went to reach for her katana and remembered her shoulder was dislocated when she felt a sharp pain and her arm wouldn't move.

"Carol!" Michonne yelled "I need you to pop my shoulder back in". Carol wordlessly approached, checking out Michonne's arm.

"Ok" she said, "stand flat against the wall". Michonne put her back to the wall as Carol grabbed her arm.

"This is going to hurt. A lot." Carol warned.

Michonne nodded, gritting her teeth. Carol yanked Michonne's shoulder up and to the side, causing her to let out a sharp scream, but suddenly the pain lessened, and she could move her arm again.

"Thank you" Michonne huffed.

"It should probably be in a sling for a while, it will be sore" Carol suggested, but a hail of gunshots suddenly cut off their conversation.

The most vulnerable people were left in the church as everyone else streamed out. Michonne quickly kissed Judith who was being held by an older woman, as she went back outside. The scene before her was chaos. The burning houses created smoke that covered the town. People were running around, but it was hard to tell who was friend or foe until they were very close. Michonne took off towards where she could make out Daryl's form, aiming his crossbow at a man. The man wasn't paying attention, shooting his gun at two people running away. An arrow from Daryl lodged itself in the man's skull, killing him. Daryl retrieved his arrow and reloaded it.

Michonne ran up to Daryl and they stood back to back, protecting each other. Thirty seconds later, Carol arrived and the three of them made a circle facing outward, trying to pick off any Saviors that came by.

As Michonne glanced toward the destroyed front gate, she saw a man slowly walking into Alexandria. The pure confidence and arrogance that dripped off of him made it immediately clear to Michonne. This was Negan.

Negan seemed completely unbothered by the chaos around him. He didn't have a gun out, which Michonne thought was idiotic, but he was holding on to a baseball bat that was laid across his shoulders.

"I think that's their leader" Michonne pointed out to Daryl and Carol.

"C'mon" Daryl said quickly "lets take him out". Before anyone could say anything to him, Daryl sprinted down the street towards Negan, his crossbow at the ready. When he got into range Daryl aimed.

"No!" Carol yelled, running a few steps behind Daryl. He ignored her, but he didn't see the man coming up behind him because of his focus on Negan. Carol pulled up her gun to shoot the man but it was too late, his gun went off directly behind Daryl, ripping through his shoulder.

The shot drew Negan's attention, and he watched with amusement as the other man dragged Daryl to Negan. "Negan, Sir, this man tried to shoot you, but I stopped him".

Negan looked Daryl up and down with curiosity. "Good job... Felix... isn't it? You earned yourself 30 points. Watch this man, we're gonna use him as an example".

Carol quickly ran up, leveling her gun at Negan's head. "Woohoohoo" Negan laughed. "The girls here have spunk! You looking to join your... buddy?" he asked. Michonne looked around and noticed they were surrounded by at least 15 more of Negan's men.

"Carol" Michonne whispered softly as a warning. Carol stared Negan down and then lowered her gun. Negan seemed thoroughly amused.

"Grab these two sweethearts, and him, and bring them to the town center. And start rounding up the dear villagers. We need to have a town meeting." Negan commanded.


	6. Chapter 6

Within minutes, the Alexandrians realized it was over. Negan had the town surrounded, and he had brought well armed back up. With the front gate knocked down and the majority of the houses burned, they had been beaten, and destroyed. His men poured into the town, rounding up everyone and bringing them to the veranda in the town's center.

Michonne stood next to Carol, Maggie, Glenn, Abraham, Sasha and Rosita. The Saviors had dragged everyone out of the church as well, and Michonne watched the woman who was holding Judith out of the corner of her eye. She longed to go over and grab her baby, but she didn't want to draw any undue attention to the toddler.

Daryl was standing under the veranda with Negan and some of his men behind him. Daryl was bleeding profusely from his gunshot wound to the shoulder. His face didn't betray any pain, but his body was swaying and shaking uncontrollably. Michonne could tell he was hurt badly and he needed medical help.

Michonne glanced next to her at Carol who was staring intensely at Daryl. Her fists were clenched and she was shaking slightly. Michonne discreetly touched Carol's hand to let her know she was with her and she understood. Carol looked at Michonne briefly, and then turned her eyes to Negan, who had a wide grin on his face.

"I told you fuckers I was gonna show you I'm serious. If you had opened your gates, you would still have houses right now".

There was absolute silence. Even the children were quiet. Everyone was staring at Negan.

"Now, I understand the new world order might be a little difficult to understand, but it's very simple, so even if you're fucking stupid... which you may very well be... you can understand it. Ready? Here goes... pay attention. Give me your shit or I will kill you."

Negan glanced at the crowd, obviously enjoying the attention he was getting.

"This is my town now..." he said looking around at Alexandria "at least the part that isn't on fire at the moment. And you are now my tenants. You pay me rent, for the pleasure of living in my town. Everything that you thought was yours, is now fucking mine. Your house, your food, your bed, hell... I'll take your fucking kid if you fuck with me. You own nothing. If you fucking look at me wrong I'll slice you up into pieces"

Out of the corner of her eye, Michonne could see a few people were crying. Pure rage bubbled up inside of her. This man was responsible for Rick's death and Carl's disappearance. And now he was threatening her family again. She longed to plunge her katana into his chest like she'd done for the Governor.

"Whether you live or die is based on the points you earn. You contribute to my town, you earn points. You don't contribute, you don't get shit. And if you ever think of trying to kill me..." Negan turned his attention to Daryl, who was now swaying much more from his bleeding gunshot wound.

"Now normally I would beat the literal shit out of someone who tried to shoot an arrow at me. But I'm feeling awfully generous today, seeing as you just lost your leader, and I fucking burned your town to the ground. So this one's punishment won't be as harsh as it could be."

Negan nodded his head, and a man approached Daryl with a knife. Carol tensed up and looked like she was about to run towards the guards. Michonne reached out and held Carol's arm just in case.

The man held the knife in front of Daryl's face, obviously trying to get a reaction from him. Daryl stared the man down and didn't flinch. The man dragged the sharp knife down the front of Daryl's shirt, ripping the shirt open. He then snatched Daryl's shirt and vest off, revealing his scarred back from years of abuse as a child, and his horrifyingly bloody gunshot wound. There was a gasp and Michonne wasn't sure which wound the crowd was responding to.

"Shit!" Negan exclaimed "Someone beat the shit out of you already! Good thing that wasn't gonna be my punishment"

The man who had taken off Daryl's shirt returned with an iron that was so hot it was smoking. He moved closer and closer to Daryl, and when Michonne realized what was going to happen she felt sick to her stomach. Carol let out a scream and yelled "No! Stop it!"

Two other men held Daryl still, and the man with the iron jammed it on top of Daryl's gunshot wound. The guttoral roar he released was nothing Michonne had ever heard before and never wanted to hear again. Daryl collapsed to the ground unconscious, and the two men had to hold him up.

"He passed out already?" Negan laughed "What a pussy".

The men dropped Daryl to the ground and left him there.

"So anyway" Negan continued "you will sleep outside for now on, until you earn enough points to live in a house. You will drink water and eat whatever you can find crawling around until you earn enough points to buy food. And if you put a toe out of line, you'll end up like crispy boy here..." he promptly kicked an unconscious Daryl, "or worse. Any questions?"

He waited as if someone might actually ask him a question.

"Ok!" Negan said, looking relieved. "Now who's gonna give me a tour?". His eyes immediately locked with Michonne, who was still holding on to Carol. Although she didn't want him to look at her, she was too stubborn to turn away.

"You" he pointed "show me around".

Michonne stayed in her place, trying her hardest not to be bossed around by this monster. When she didn't move he looked annoyed. "Don't make me fucking ask again" he warned.

She let go of Carol's hand and walked up to Negan. His guards immediately removed her katana from its scabbord. When she approached him he was much taller than she was and she was intimidated, but she had worked hard to teach herself to not show her emotions. She put on a hard mask and stared him in the eye.  
"Show me the armory first" he demanded. She took him to the armory, then the pantry, the infirmary and then the orchards. He then made her take him house to house to look in the houses that hadn't been destroyed by the grenades and fire. As they walked up to her house, her stomach dropped as she realized Rick was still on the couch.

He seemed to read the tension in her body immediately, even though she didn't say a word.

"Who lives here?" he asked. She didn't answer him. He stepped up to her and put his face in her face. "When I ask you something you fucking answer me" he growled. She bunched up her fists and gave him a murderous stare, her eye twitching.

"Our leader did, until your men shot him like the cowards they are" she spat.

"Well, he didn't cooperate" Negan shot back.

He brushed past her and walked up the front porch, pulling open the door and stepping inside. "Ooooh, nice, very nice" he said as he strolled down the front entrance. Michonne felt violated that this man was going through the home that she shared with Rick and her children, and she couldn't do anything about it.  
Negan stopped when he saw the body on the couch covered with a sheet.

"Shit! You still didn't bury him?" Negan laughed, surprised "What are you gonna do, let him rot on the couch?"

Michonne gritted her teeth. She was barely in control of her rage and her grief, and she wasn't sure if she would burst into tears or rip Negan's insides out.

"Let us bury him" she managed to get out "We'll take him and bury him right now"

Negan seemed to catch the way her voice was shaking and her body language. It dawned on him that she was very close to the man laying on the couch.

"Was this your man?" Negan asked. She didn't want to answer, but he had already warned her twice about not answering him. She thought about who would earn points for Judy to eat if he decided to punish her like he did to Daryl.

"Yes" she said, staring at him.

"Do you live here?" he asked again.

"Yes" she replied.

He nodded a little. "You're honest, I like that. This looks like the best house in the neighborhood. I'm going to stay here." After a beat he added "You can stay here too".

Michonne was shocked. Didn't he just say that everyone had to sleep outside?

"I'm not staying here with you" she stated

.  
"Have fun in the dirt then" he replied, and he turned to go upstairs.

Michonne walked out the house and found Glenn, Abraham, and Sasha and asked them to help her take Rick's body to the cemetary. They all started digging a grave in silence. Michonne would occasionally glance over to Rick's still body and stare at a lock of his hair that was peaking out from underneath the sheet. After a while she would catch herself staring, and continue digging. The others noticed, but no one said anything to her.

Once the hole was deep enough, Rick's body was carefully placed inside. They paused for a moment of silence for him, and to everyone's surprise, Michonne started to pray. She had been a religious person at one time, but she hadn't prayed since the death of her boyfriend and son. But something inside of her needed to know that there was a higher power watching over Rick and Carl.

"Dear God, please take Rick into your arms and keep him. Let him be happy wherever he is, until I can join him. Please watch over Carl and keep him safe. Bring him back to us if he's alive..." her voice broke and tears started to stream down her face "but if he's not..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes "let him be with Rick in peace. And also, I pray for us who are still alive. Give us the strength to make it through this. Amen."

Glenn, Abraham, and Sasha responded with an "Amen", and Sasha wrapped her arms around Michonne as she finally broke down, sobbing. She had been holding on to her grief all day, and it felt good to finally let it go.

As she cried, Glenn and Abraham filled in the hole and placed a placard that Glenn had quickly carved out of a piece of wood from one of the burning houses that said 'Rick Grimes' on top of it.

Michonne let go of Sasha and looked toward's Rick's grave. Her three companions were waiting for her to be finished so that they could walk her back to where the Alexandrians had been designated to sleep. She looked towards them and said "Don't wait for me, I need some time". They understood she needed to be alone and they left her.

She needed more than time, she needed a plan. She needed to collect her thoughts.

 _Carl may still be alive. I need to get out of here and find him. I need a vehicle in case he's hurt, and supplies so I can stay out there a few days._

Michonne knew what she needed, but she had no idea how to get it. Negan was never going to let her go off somewhere with a car and supplies. That would be very stupid, and he seemed like a smart man. He wouldn't let her go... at least not for free. Everything with him ran on points. She hadn't earned any yet, but she thought maybe she could barter.

With a plan in mind, she returned to the grassy area that Negan was forcing the Alexandrians to sleep in. She immediately went over to where Daryl was laying, Carol and Denise trying to tend to his horrifying wounds. The iron had severely burned him causing his skin to bubble up on top of the gunshot wound. It smelled of burned blood, skin, and hair and there was permanent damage done to his shoulder.

"They won't give me pain medication or bandages" Denise explained to Michonne, "they said he hasn't earned any points yet". Michonne was horrified. She secretly hoped Daryl wouldn't wake any time soon and be conscious of the pain his body was most definitely feeling.

Carol kneeled by his side, stroking his hair. "I'm so sorry Carol" Michonne said. "Negan has to die" Carol said, in a hard unforgiving voice.

"He will" Michonne replied.

The two of them sat there in silence for a while.

"I'm going out there to get Carl" Michonne said.

Carol looked at her out of the corner of her eye. "How? He won't let you leave here, and the place is surrounded".

"I'll find a way... I have to know"

Carol just nodded, staring at Daryl's pale face. "When we were out there we found two dead walkers. They were recently put down. I'm pretty sure it was Carl that did it. He might be hiding out in a house somewhere, but I think he's alive"

"When I'm gone, will you take care of Judy?" Michonne asked, "I know Maggie and Glenn would, but with the pregnancy I know they have their own problems to worry about and..."

Carol cut her off. "Of course".

Michonne squeezed Daryl's hand before marching off to her home which was now Negan's residence. Two guards stopped her at the door and asked why she was there.

"I need to speak with Negan" she said.

"He's not seeing visitors now" one of the men said.

"I'm not a visitor, this is my house, move out the way" Michonne said through gritted teeth.

"It ain't your house. You ain't got a house" the other man chimed in "Now how 'bout you go back to the grass with the rest of your people and dig for some worms for dinner"

Michonne stared the man down. "I'm going inside. I can do it with or without breaking your nose"

"You stupid bi..." the man began

"Let her in" Michonne could hear Negan's voice call from the living room.

Michonne immediately pushed past the man into her house. Negan was laying across the couch where Rick was laying just hours before. His muddy boots were resting on the fabric creating lines of dirt on the upholstery.

"What?" he asked as he saw her annoyed look.

"I need to leave. My son is out there and I have to go find him. I will come back as soon as I do, but I need supplies and a car for a few days so I can look for him".

Negan looked at her like she had three heads. "Not my problem, and no." he said dismissively.

"Look, you need me. If you want to live in this town you need to know how it works, and no one knows that better than me. I've helped to run this town for months, and I know how to rally the people of this town without killing them. You need them to cooperate to help feed your men right? You let me leave for a few days, and I will help you".

"Mmmm, no fucking way" Negan said, placing his hands behind his head, closing his eyes, and digging his boots further into the couch.

He was grating on Michonne's nerves. Summoning the very last reserves of patience, Michonne approached the couch.

"Listen. I'm going, whether you say I can or not. Now the question is will you give me supplies?"

Something about the determination in her voice made Negan sit up and pay attention. He got up from the couch and approached her dangerously, towering over her. Her eyes didn't waver as they bore into his.

"You have some fucking balls" Negan said appreciatively.

"Hmmm" He said as he considered her question, "I'll give you supplies if you work for me when you get back. I need a personal assistant that will give it to me straight, and the rest of these men are afraid of me, but I don't think you are. Plus, I could look at that ass for days" He said giving her a wink.

"But you're gonna pay for the supplies and car you take. I'm not giving you any points for a week when you come back". He was studying her face for a reaction but she didn't give him one.

"And you're right, I do need your people to cooperate. This is how it works, you have three days to go find that boy, and you be back by sundown on that third day. When you get back you'll be my assistant, and you'll keep your people in check and cooperative."

He moved a little closer into her personal space, and she glared at him in response. "And if you're not back on that third day, I'll start killing your people one by one, starting with the youngest".


	7. Chapter 7

_**Thanks for sticking with this story, and thank you to everyone who left reviews!**_

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 **Three days later:**

 _Michonne could feel Rick nuzzling his head into her neck, and then kissing her shoulder as she slept. She smiled to herself as he traced a trail of kisses down her arm, causing her to shiver. When he got to her hand, he lifted it up, kissing each individual finger and then her palm. He knew she wasn't sleeping because at this point she couldn't hide her smile any longer, but she didn't move._

 _He took her smile as an invitation, positioning himself to straddle her. He then leaned down, pulling back the covers, and took one of her breasts into his mouth. She moaned and her eyes snapped open, finally meeting his big blue ones that were staring into her face._

 _He let go of her breast long enough to whisper "G'mornin'" and then he continued his work. She giggled "Morning Rick", and playfully pulled his curls. As her hands wandered down his body they found his hardness and she teased "up early I see"._

 _He laughed at her joke and moved his lips to her mouth, kissing her slowly but passionately._

 _Suddenly, Michonne remembered that this couldn't be happening, Rick was dead. She knew she was dreaming, and the dream wouldn't last much longer._

 _"Wait" she said, and Rick abruptly stopped kissing her. "Why do I keep dreaming about you?"_

 _"Why do you think?" he said, smiling._

 _"Will you always be there, when I fall asleep?" she asked._

 _"I'll be here as long as you need me. Like always."_

 _"I'll always need you"_

 _"No. You won't."_

Michonne opened her eyes, disappointed that she was now awake. She had dreamed about Rick every night since he died, and it was comforting to some degree, but heart wrenching to another. Occasionally she would realize that she was dreaming and would ask him questions or tell him what was happening in the world without him. Even though she was aware that she was only talking to herself, a part of her hoped that Rick was really communicating with her somehow.

She was laying on the floor of an abandoned doctor's office that had already been looted for medical supplies. She had tried looking for bandages or medicine, something she could bring back for Daryl, but to no avail.

She had been tracking Carl for three days, starting from the place where the walkers were discovered, and driving up and down roads, trampling through the forest, and checking every house she came across. There was no trace of him. It was like he just disappeared.

It broke her heart that she may never know what happened to him. Her worst fear was that she would find him as a walker and have to put him down. She knew that would break her in every way possible, because it had broken her before. That was what she'd had to do for her baby, Andre.

The only thing that was allowing her to hold on to sanity was thinking about Judith. She still had one baby left.

She knew that she had to leave soon to get back to Alexandria before sundown. Negan had threatened to start killing the youngest members of Alexandria if Michonne wasn't back on time, and since Judith was the only baby at the moment, Michonne knew she was in danger.

She wondered if he somehow knew her connection to Judith. She had tried not to look at her too much while Daryl was being burned with the iron, and she had only briefly hugged her before she left for the trip because of the many Saviors who were around, but Negan seemed extremely perceptive. Just like her. It scared her a little bit. He had picked up on her connection to Rick within seconds, and it was possible that he read her connection with Judith as well.  
Michonne tiredly dragged herself to her feet, gathering up the blanket she had been sleeping on. She picked up her meager belongings, her katana which Negan had given back to her, and a backpack that contained a can of black beans and two bottles of water, which Negan had "graciously" allowed her to take from her own kitchen cabinet.

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the half full tube of Spearmint and Baking Soda toothpaste that she carried everywhere with her. It was the last gift Rick had given her, and she treasured it. She quickly kissed it and stuffed it back into her pocket.

She was going to do a final drive by of the roads nearby, just in case, and then she'd have to give up the search for Carl.

She got into the car and headed down the road slowly, staring into the forest in the hopes of seeing Rick's sheriff hat on the head of the messy haired boy that she loved. She frantically circled the back roads for 45 minutes, finding nothing. Finally, she had to give up.

Her lips began to tremble and tears sprung up from her eyes. She stopped the car, too hysterical to drive

"Goodbye Carl", she sobbed into her hands "if you're still alive come back to us".

She stayed parked in the middle of the road until her eyes were clear enough to drive, and then she reluctantly turned and headed back to Alexandria.

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 **A year later:**

"Hey Carl!"

"Hey man"

"Mornin' Carl!"

Carl walked across the school football field, being greeted by people in every direction. He was practically a teen celebrity at the Kingdom, everyone under the age of 20 wanted to be like him.

He had impressed the Kingdomites (as they liked to be called) from day one with his one eye, his impressive shooting ability, his amazing survival skills, and his story about surviving alone for months before being discovered by the two Kingdom guards.

There were girls lining up just to say they spoke to him, and the guys all wanted him to teach them how to shoot, hunt, and fight.

His missing eye just made him look more cool and intimidating, and when he explained it was shot out by a thug who was trying to rob him for his food, the other teens looked on in disbelief.

Everyone wanted to be Carl. Except Carl.

He adjusted the katana on his back, nodding to his admirers as he went. He walked into the stables and stood in front of his horse's stall. A beautiful white horse stuck her head out of the stall, sniffing Carl's hand, looking for apples.

"Hey Judy girl, how was your night huh?" he asked, scratching her behind the ears. She whinnied and stuck her nose into his hair, making him laugh.  
"Wanna go for a ride?" he asked her, slipping a bridle on her and leading her outside. He quickly mounted her and trotted up to the gates leading out of the football field.

"Hey Carl", an older boy called to him. "Going hunting?"  
"Yea" he called back "I'll be back in a little while"

The boy opened the gate and Carl trotted out into the woods. The Kingdom was located in a large high school campus. The football field was used as a stable for horses, and the main school building was used for housing. Although it was a sturdy brick building and fairly safe from walkers, Carl would often feel boxed in and claustrophobic if he stayed in the school walls for too long. He volunteered to be one of the Kingdom's main hunters.

He would go out every morning to check traps and try to catch deer, rabbits, squirrels, and opossums to bring back. He had learned how to make traps from his father while on the road to Terminus, and he had learned how to track prey from Daryl. When he brought back meat it made him even more of a celebrity than he already was, but all the attention made him cringe inside.

The guilt of what happened a year ago, when his father was shot, still permeated his being. Every night he would have the same nightmare, watching Rick's head snap backwards as the bullet tore his forehead apart. Carl would float over himself, watching himself as he crouched there motionless as Rick's body was dragged away by the men.

He had given the people at the Kingdom a few white lies about his past, he had lied about how long he had been by himself before he was found, and how he had lost his eye, but _almost_ everything else had been true. When the leader, King Ezekiel, had asked him what happened to his family, he had told him they were all dead. That part was half true, his mother and father were dead, but he prayed every night that Michonne and Judy were still alive.

He felt so much guilt knowing that they most likely thought he was dead. He knew Michonne had grieved him, just like she undoubtably had grieved Rick. He hated knowing that he caused her more pain than she was already in, and he hated that Judy had no father and no brother to help raise her. But he knew that Michonne and Judy had each other, and neither of them needed a coward like him anyway.

Carl stopped his horse in front of the first trap. He could see a squirrel had gotten caught. He quickly took it out the trap, reset it, and continued on his way.  
Over the past year, he had tried his hardest to erase his past and start over. He tried not thinking about Rick and the way he died. He tried to ignore his longing to travel back to Alexandria and see Michonne and Judy.

The Kingdomites didn't know where Alexandria was or that it existed, and Carl didn't know how to find it from here, so it made it that much easier to ignore his longing.

Also, his girlfriend Tamia had helped. She was one of the only girls who hadn't thrown herself at the one eyed, dangerous boy who wandered in off the road one day. She immediately drew Carl's attention. She had survived on her own as well for two weeks after her camp was overrun. She knew how to defend herself, and was just as badass as Carl was. She also was a princess, having been adopted by King Ezekiel shortly after she arrived at the Kingdom.

Time spent with Tamia was the only time Carl actually smiled. She reminded him so much of Michonne. Not just her skin color, but the way she always had a one liner that made him laugh, or she'd look at him out of the corner of her eye when she didn't believe something that he said.

Carl approached his second trap to check it. He stopped Judy and hopped off her back, immediately seeing he hadn't caught anything. He turned to get back on his horse when a rustling sound caught his attention. He spun around but didn't see anything. He then heard more rustling coming from a bush a few feet away.

He unsheathed his katana that he'd found when going on a run to a karate school to look for weapons. It had immediately made him think of Michonne, and he kept the sword and taught himself to use it.

Carl pointed the katana towards the bushes and slowly approached, assuming a walker got stuck. As he got closer he recognized the back end of a deer. It was a buck who's antlers got stuck in the bushes. The deer must've been there a while because it had dug deep grooves into the dirt as it pawed at the ground in frustration, trying to escape. Carl couldn't believe his luck, this deer would feed the entire Kingdom tonight.

He approached the deer and quickly plunged his katana through it's heart, killing it instantly. He then severed it's head to detach it from the bushes, and dragged it into a clearing where he could start taking out it's internal organs to make it lighter to carry back home. He worked quickly, simultaneously checking his back for walkers or people.

It took him 30 minutes to completely prep the deer, and then he dragged it back to Judy. There was no way he'd be able to hoist the deer on to the horse's back, it was too heavy. Thinking quickly, he tied the deer to the back of the horse by a rope. He'd just have to have Judy drag it back to the Kingdom.  
He hopped on Judy's back and had her trot home with the deer dragging behind. As he approached the Kingdom's gates, he heard a voice call out "Wow Carl! a whole deer?" it was the boy from earlier.

The gates opened and Carl trotted in. A crowd quickly gathered as he got off his horse.  
"This is awesome!" someone exclaimed.  
"It's huge, it can feed us all!" he heard another voice say.  
Carl didn't look at anyone. He untied the deer and said "someone from the kitchen needs to take it and clean it". He then turned and led Judy back to her stall.

As he removed her bridle and began brushing her down, Tamia walked in.  
"I heard you took down a 200 pound buck all by yourself" she said, sauntering up to him.  
"Not really. It was stuck in a bush, I just killed it" he admitted.  
"Still, because of you everyone's gonna eat tonight" she said, patting Judy. He stayed quiet, continuing to brush her.  
"Y'know, you should take some credit for the things you do once in a while" she said. "I mean, I like that you don't have a big head, but sometimes you can be a bit of a downer".  
He looked at her now and she was smiling. He had always loved her smile. Her teeth were white, and her teeth and eyes always lit up her entire face when she smiled.  
He put down the brush and quickly walked up to her, pressing his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes expecting him to kiss her. After a few seconds he still didn't move and she opened her eyes again. "What?" she asked, confused.  
"I like that you don't have a big head, but sometimes you are kind of beautiful" he whispered. He then leaned in and kissed her gently, running his hands through her braided hair. When they broke apart both of them were smiling.  
"Look at you, trying to be sweet" she teased "C'mon, my father wants to speak with you". She held his hand as she led him from the stables and back into the school.

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"Carl, my boy" King Ezekiel said excitedly, getting up from his throne on the stage of the school's auditorium. Ezekiel was extremely theatric and he took the whole "King" thing to another level, calling his people "subjects", and the school building his "castle". But besides the title, Ezekiel was far from a tyrant, having regular meetings with his subjects to discuss issues. His council also voted on important decisions rather than it all falling on him. Carl respected him greatly.

Carl and Tamia bowed respectfully as Ezekiel approached. It had taken Carl quite a while to get used to bowing to anyone, and he wasn't sure if his father would approve, but he knew that it was only seen as a sign of respect here, not submission.

"Princess Tamia, my dear" Ezekiel greeted her, taking her hand and kissing it gently. "Come my children, I must discuss something with you". He led them up the stage steps to a back room that was probably used for play props and costumes. It now housed a large circular table, probably one dragged downstairs from the school library, that Ezekiel used to have council meetings. Every time Carl saw it it made him laugh in his head, and think of stories of King Arthur's knights of the round table.

"Please sit" Ezekiel said, gesturing to the chairs. Carl and Tamia sat next to each other, facing Ezekiel.

"There was trouble with Negan last night" Ezekiel said, getting to the point. "Sir Larry and his knights were sent to the rendezvous point to bring the Saviors their tribute for this month. Negan himself was there, and said that the tribute was too small. They are holding Sir Larry until we give them another wagon full of supplies".

Carl's eye popped open. "Another wagon full? It took a whole month just to fill the first one!"

Ezekiel nodded. "Yes, he's given us an almost impossible task and he knows it. It makes me wonder why he's saying our tribute is too small now of all times."

All three of them were quiet for a while. "He might be planning to attack us and he's looking for justification" Tamia chimed in. Carl and King Ezekiel both looked at her thoughtfully. "Tamia my girl, I think you may be right" Ezekiel said, looking at her proudly.

"That does make sense, we've always given him a single wagon and he's never had a problem until now" Carl said.

"We cannot afford to go to war with the Saviors right now" Ezekiel said. "As much as I'd love to finish them once and for all, we don't have the man power or weapon power to defeat them. At least not yet."

"So what do we do?" Carl asked.

"Well, this is why I asked to speak to you" Ezekiel said "I would like you to take another small offering to the Saviors and see if they will let Sir Larry go, with a promise of much more supplies in the future..." Ezekiel paused for a moment. "But then, I want you to find out where they are holding up. I heard from my scouts a rumor that Negan had moved his headquarters months ago, to another town that had walls. We don't know where the town is, but I want you to find out Carl".

Carl and Tamia looked at Ezekiel in shock. He had never given Carl a mission like this before.  
"Why me?" Carl asked, immediately doubting himself.  
"I know no one more capable of handling themselves outside than you. You are smart and stealthy, and I wouldn't send you on this mission if I did not think you'd make it back alive" Ezekiel said, looking at Carl intensely.  
"I... what... what if they don't let Sir Larry go?" Carl asked.  
"I don't expect them to" Ezekiel said "Negan is a stubborn man, and if he gives an ultimatum he will stick to it. Coming to retrieve Larry is just your smokescreen to find out how many Saviors are around, and the best way to follow them"

Carl nodded. _I can do this. I think._  
"I'll do it" Carl said, but his voice shook a little.  
"I'm going as well" Tamia cut in.  
Ezekiel looked at her in surprise. "I can also handle myself outside, and I'm your most skilled archer. And I will not let him take on this mission alone."  
"Tamia..." Ezekiel began.

"I will go with Carl, we will complete our mission, and we both will return" Tamia said, staring at her father with a look that said: _this is happening, get with the program._ Carl looked at her and she gave him the same look.

Ezekiel nodded his head in agreement. "When you go to the rendezvous point, I will send an escort of ten knights with you. But when you follow the Saviors, it will just be the two of you"

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"Why did you volunteer to go with me?" Carl asked Tamia angrily. They were walking out of the auditorium after their meeting with Ezekiel.

She looked at him out of the side of her eye in the way he loved. "You know why" she said.

"No. I really don't." Carl said, stopping and grabbing one of her hands to make her stop too. Tamia looked at him as if she was trying to figure out if he was serious.

"Did you think I couldn't do it? That I needed help?" he asked, raising his voice. Tamia looked into his eyes and was shocked to see the doubt and fear that shown back at her. She had never seen this side of him.

"No!" she said with an intensity that shocked herself. "Of course I didn't think that Carl. Why would you think... I know you can do this. I wanted to go with you because I love you, and I couldn't... I can't stay her just waiting for you to come back. Not when I can help."

He looked into her eyes and realized that she did trust him, she just wanted to help. He let out a breath and looked relieved.

"Carl" she said, moving closer to him and grabbing his face between her hands. "You know I trust you right? You know I believe in you?"

He nodded. "Yea... yea I know. I'm sorry" he said, slightly embarrassed at his reaction.

She let go of his face and patted his shoulder, starting to walk away.

"Tamia!" he called. She turned around. "I love you too".

She smiled and continued to walk back to her chambers.

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The next day, Carl, Tamia, and ten knights suited up for their trip to the rendezvous point where they usually dropped goods with Negan's men. Ezekiel had provided a wagon that was 1/2 full of fruit and vegetables grown from the Kingdom's gardens. He also added some baskets of clothing and homemade goods. It would have to do.

Everyone was suited up in armor, which was really riot gear that the people of the Kingdom had discovered from an overrun police station, earlier on during the outbreak.

Because Tamia was part of the royal family, her riot gear was painted white and was decorated with designs made in gold paint, probably found in the set painting supplies stored behind the school's stage. She sat atop her own white horse named Ghost, who was Judy's brother. She had on matching white jeans and riding boots that came up to her knees. Her hair was cornrowed back and fell into braids that came to her shoulders. She had a bow and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back, and Carl thought she looked beautiful. He vowed that if something went down with Negan's men he would protect her at all costs.

Ezekiel came out to send off the princess and his knights. He reached up to give Tamia a kiss telling her "Be safe my princess", "yes father" she responded, giving him a bow from the back of her horse.

Ezekiel then walked over to Carl who was sitting atop Judy. "You know how important this mission is my boy. I only sent you because I have that much faith in your abilities. Just find out where this town is, and it could mean a whole new life for us and our people." Carl nodded, "Yes King Ezekiel".

"And I know this doesn't need to be said, but take care of my daughter" Ezekiel whispered. "Yes sir" Carl responded, bowing.

Ezekiel backed away from the horses and waved as the convoy set off. As he watched them trot down the road, he couldn't help but cringe as a knot settled in his stomach.


	8. Chapter 8

After a two hour ride, Carl and Tamia, with their escort of knights reached the Saviors' rendezvous point. Carl could see 15 men sitting in front of an abandoned gas station playing cards and gambling.

Before making himself known, Carl insisted on scoping out the area first. He left his horse with Tamia and the others, ignoring her protests, and snuck off into the woods. He got to the back of the gas station and realized there were no guards in the back.

 _These guys obviously aren't worried about an attack_ he thought.

He tried to peer through the station's back windows to see if any more Saviors were inside but he couldn't see past the window's dirty and stained panes.

He could hear the men in the front laughing and arguing, but he couldn't make out any useful conversation. Nervous about moving closer and being spotted, he reluctantly snuck back to where the others were waiting.  
"There's about 15 men in the front and none in the back. I couldn't tell if there are any more inside" Carl explained. "When you usually do drop-offs, how does it work?"

Sir Dave, a knight who had done four drop-offs said "We usually ride right up with the wagon, they inspect the goods, unload it, and send us on our way."

"Ok, this is what we're gonna do. I need five of you to go to the back of the station and be our back up in case something goes wrong. The other five will come with Tamia and I. We'll ask for the exchange, and try to spot Sir Larry. He's probably being held inside the station. If they don't accept, we'll try to leave, and that's where I'll need you guys on the back up team. They may try to take the supplies anyway. If that happens, Sir Bruce and Sir Matthew, you go into the station and get Sir Larry out of there at all costs. The rest of us will hold our own out here. If they don't attack us, we'll go down the road for a mile, and Tamia and I will circle back and hide nearby. We'll try to determine the best way to follow them. Any questions?"  
No one spoke, and Carl was actually impressed with himself for making a plan on the fly, and convincing a group of grown men to follow it.

 _Maybe this will work._

The five knights on the back up team quickly tied up their horses and snuck off silently to get into position behind the station. Carl mounted his horse again, and took a deep breath, trying to control the jitters he felt in his belly. Before he could signal the other Knights to head towards the gas station, Tamia reached out and grabbed his hand. "It'll work Carl" she said, giving him one of her radiant smiles. He squeezed her hand and then gave the signal and they trotted toward the station.

On their approach, the men looked up in surprise. This drop-off wasn't scheduled. They stopped their card games and cautiously picked up their weapons, a mix of hand guns, spears, and clubs.

"What do you have for us there?" One of the men asked. "Is this the payment to get your man back?" Carl, still on Judy's back, looked down at the man. "This is payment for our knight" he said confidently. The man walked over to the wagon and immediately noticed it wasn't full.

"Where's the rest? Negan said he wanted a whole wagon"

"This is all we have to offer" Carl said, inconspicuously looking around to scope out the men and see if any more were hiding nearby.

"King Ezekiel would like to offer this tribute with a promise that in the future we will provide Negan with a wagon and a half, if you will return our knight to us" Tamia chimed in.

"Who's the girl?", the man turned to ask another savior, who chuckled. He approached Tamia, and Carl's hand clenched around his gun. Amazingly, he hadn't had to use it since the day he shot that walker in the house. The day that his shot was heard by those men who found them and killed Rick. He still had the three bullets he'd found in the house that day. They were in the chamber of the gun just waiting to be used. Shortly after he'd come to the kingdom, he'd found his katana, and it was a more practical weapon than the gun.

"Back away from me" Tamia threatened softly, her hand on her knife. "We came here in peace but we will defend ourselves." The five knights all pulled their swords and moved closer to Tamia.

"Shit" the man said, "You must be the little princess. Tell your daddy Ezekiel that unless he gives Negan the full tribute that we discussed, Sir whatever will be our guest." The man began to walk away when a thought crossed his mind. "Hey!" he yelled to another man behind him. "Go get the newbie". The man turned around and went into the gas station.

Carl already had enough, these men weren't giving up Sir Larry. Time to leave. Carl gestured with his head that it was time to leave, and the knights began to trot off with the wagon.

"Hey!" the man called again "hold up!". When the group didn't turn around the Savior shot a warning shot in the air. Carl spun back around quickly pulling his gun. Within seconds Tamia pulled her bow off her back and loaded an arrow, aiming it at the man's head. The 5 guards who were their escorts pulled their weapons as well. Carl could see the five back up men silently sneaking from behind the gas station with their weapons drawn.

"Y'all don't think you're gonna just roll up in here with a half full wagon and walk away scott free d'ya? That shit is not ok. Now one of you is gonna pay the price for not giving us what we asked for, you can take your pick of who it is. You can take your beating like a man, and then go on home to Ezekiel and lick your wounds."

"Not gonna happen" Carl said. "This is your last chance to let us go in peace, or you'll end up in pieces".

As Carl said that, another Savior walked out from the gas station. Tamia quickly refocused her bow on the new man, as Carl already had his gun on the man who stood closest to them. Carl quickly glanced at the man coming towards them, walking with his head down. He had jet black hair that was slicked back. He wore dirty jeans and a ratty looking t-shirt, not leather jackets like most of the other Saviors wore. And from the way that he walked, it seemed like he wasn't too thrilled to be there.

"Don't come any closer!" Tamia warned, and the man stopped.

"Hey, you don't listen to her!" The first man yelled "go snatch her ass off that horse, or you ain't earning nothing!". The new man looked towards the Savior for a second as if in disbelief of what the man said. He then looked up for the first time at Tamia, and Carl could finally see his face.

It was a young asian man who looked very familiar. Carl's heart stopped for a moment and he sucked in a breath. He froze in disbelief. It was Glenn.

Glenn still didn't notice Carl, and Carl didn't want to call him out, so he kept silent. Glenn turned back to look at the other Savior.

"She's just a girl" he said. "I'm not gonna beat up a little girl".

"You're gonna beat up who I tell you to, or you ain't gonna be one of us" the man demanded. Glenn looked back at Tamia who's arrow was pointed right at his head. Carl knew he had to do something, and quick. He nodded to the back up team who began shooting their weapons at the Saviors who were outside the station, taking them by surprise. Five of them were dead before anyone knew what was happening.  
The man in front of Carl stumbled backwards, startled by the sudden gunfire, and then began to run back to the station. The other knights quickly took off after him, cutting him down with their swords. Carl saw Tamia pull her arm back, preparing to shoot Glenn in the face when he screamed "Don't!". She stopped, looking confused, and Glenn took the opportunity to scramble towards the woods.

"Glenn!" Carl yelled, and Glenn snapped his head around to look. As Glenn's eyes met Carl's his mouth dropped open in surprise. "Carl?!" Glenn said in a whisper of disbelief.

"You know him?" Tamia asked, shocked. But their moment was interrupted by screams and a barage of gunfire. The knights needed help, as Negan's men were fighting back. Carl quickly trotted Judy over to the melee, unsheathing his katana as he rode, and decapitating a Savior who was aiming his bow at one of the knights. Tamia was right behind him, one of her arrows striking another Savior in the chest.  
In a matter of minutes there were three Saviors left, being held by the knights. Sir Bruce and Sir Matthew had followed the plan to a T, entering the gas station and bringing Sir Larry out. Although they had subdued the Saviors, Carl knew he was in big trouble. His plan was to follow them back to their new town, and now he wouldn't be able to.

Carl turned back to where he'd seen Glenn, but he was gone now. "Watch them" he said to Tamia, and she nodded, aiming her bow at the men. Carl hopped off his horse and ran back into the woods searching for Glenn.

"Glenn!" Carl called softly. He walked a little further in, "Glenn!..." when suddenly a hand jammed itself against his mouth.

"Shh... don't be loud" Carl heard Glenn say. Carl turned around and looked into the face of the man that had acted as his older brother for years. Glenn was much thinner than Carl remembered. His mustache had grown in and he now even had a beard to match, and his eyes had changed. They looked sadder and wilder. Glenn gave Carl a quick hug.

"Carl! I... I can't believe it's you. It's like looking at a ghost. Everyone thought you were dead, we made a grave for you and everything. I... shit! What happened? Where were you? Michonne, she..." Glenn suddenly stopped talking.

At the name Michonne, tears immediately welled into Carl's eyes. He hadn't spoken about Michonne to anyone in a year.

"How is Michonne and Judy? Are they ok? Are they..." Carl couldn't finish his sentence, but Glenn knew what he was asking.

"Yea... yea they're alive" Glenn said softly. He cast his eyes down, and Carl knew something was wrong.

"What?" Carl asked, suddenly panicking "What is it?"

Glenn still didn't answer.

"Please, tell me what happened!" Carl begged.

"We all have to do what we have to do to survive" Glenn said, and he turned away quickly. Carl's stomach dropped at that answer. He knew there was more to that sentence, but Glenn obviously didn't want to talk about it.

"Why are you with the Saviors?" Carl asked, changing the topic. He would bring it up later, there were more important things to talk about.

"They've been living in Alexandria for a year. They took over the town. They basically made us their slaves. I had to join them... for Maggie, and my son. It's the only way to keep them fed and protect them."

Glenn looked back at Carl, and finally took in Carl's armor, his long shaggy hair that now reached past his shoulders, and the katana strapped to his back.

"You've been living in the Kingdom all this time" Glenn said, shaking his head in wonder "why didn't you ever come back?"

The question brought up all the painful memories that Carl had tried to push down inside of himself.

 _Why didn't I come back? Because I'm a coward. Because I was afraid of what Michonne would say, I was afraid of seeing her face, her agony. I was afraid of Judy one day asking me where her daddy was. I was afraid of facing myself. So I ran away._

Carl just shook his head. "We all have to do what we have to do to survive". Glenn just nodded, accepting that answer for now.

"So what now? Your people just slaughtered the Saviors, you know there's going to be retribution".

"I know" Carl said "we didn't intend for it to go like this. This is going to be a problem for the Kingdom."

"Look, Alexandria can't take on the Saviors alone, that's why we've been living like this, like slaves, for so long. But if we have an alliance with the Kingdom... That could be the turning point. We could overthrow them. We could go back to what we had when Rick..." Glenn cut off his sentence.

"We could get back what we had before. And if the Hilltop gets on board we'd be unstoppable." Carl nodded. "Yea but how?"

"Now that I know we have an ally in the Kingdom we have somewhere to start. Go back to the Kingdom and wait, I'll find a way to get there or I'll send someone else to go to talk to Ezekiel. In the meantime I need to get back to Alexandria". He looked towards where the gas station was.

"Look, they don't know I know you. You need to take me prisoner so it doesn't look suspicious." Glenn looked at Carl for a moment and said "hit me".

"What?" Carl said, "I'm not gonna..."

"Hit me. So it looks realistic. I need them to believe I'm one of them. My family's life depends on it."

With those words, Carl agreed.

"Ok, you ready?" He asked.

Glenn nodded and braced himself for a punch.

Carl punched Glenn in the eye with everything he had. Glenn let out a groan and dropped to his knees clutching his face. "Damn Carl! Where did you learn to punch like that?" He moaned in pain.

"Sorry" Carl mumbled, helping Glenn to his feet. He could already see a red bruise starting to form. "You said realistic."

Carl gripped Glenn by the shoulder and pulled out his katana. He marched him back to the station, holding his katana to Glenn's back.

He roughly pushed Glenn to the ground with the remaining Saviors, under the watchful eye of Tamia. She knew something was up, but she didn't say anything.

"Go back to Negan and tell him the Kingdom doesn't want a fight. We will give him the tribute we originally agreed on. One wagon a month. But if he kidnaps or attacks one of our citizens again we will defend ourselves. To the death if necessary." Carl said.

He turned to the knights. "Tie them up and lock them in the station where walkers can't get them. Someone will let them out." As the Knights turned to carry out his order, Carl whispered to Tamia "I'll tell you later".


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to review this story. Especially gdyoung55 and ShunnieIsFine who comment on almost every chapter, I appreciate you guys and thank you!**_

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 **The past:**

It had taken Negan four months to crack some of Michonne's resolve, and he had relished every bit of it. When she got back from looking for Carl he was true to his word, preventing her from earning any points, which meant she couldn't eat. He also prevented her from leaving Alexandria to hunt or look for food. He posted a guard to follow her to stop her family members from slipping her food as well, and so she had to sit there and starve. It wasn't such a big deal for her, she had gone days without eating before when she was on the road with Rick and Carl, and when she was out there by herself.

What was the worst about this punishment was that she couldn't provide for Judith. In terms of food, she left Judith in Carol's care, but watched helplessly as Carol tried to earn points for herself, Judith, and Daryl who was in constant pain from his injuries. Sasha, Abraham, and Rosita who were earning points by going on runs would use their points to buy applesauce for Judith, but it just wasn't enough for a growing baby. The point system was really made for one person to take care of themselves, and there purposely weren't enough points to share.

Glenn couldn't help as he was doing runs to earn points for himself and Maggie, as well as trying to save up points for when the baby was due. Towards the end of the seven day fast, Michonne had taken to digging up worms to eat by the lake. But the worst thing about the whole situation was Negan made her work for him as he starved her. He didn't really have any work for her to do, just follow him around, making her hold this, get that. When he knew she was getting weaker and less likely to attack him, he'd make her hold his baseball bat Lucille. Whenever she got the urge to murder him, she would remember Judith and regain her self control.

After the week of no points, Negan paid her 7 points a day to be his assistant. She would spend the days explaining to him how the solar panels worked, what maintenance had to be done on the walls, how to read the expansion plans that Deanna had mapped out before she died, explaining who was best at going on runs, and listing what supplies were needed, etc. A meal for herself cost 7 points, so she took a second job of washing Negan's clothes to earn an extra 4 points so Judith could eat.

The fact that she took on the second job regardless of how much she hated him confirmed to Negan that she was earning points to care for Judith, and he worked out on his own that Judith was Rick's child. Once he knew that, he used it against her to keep her in line.

As Michonne worked for Negan, she would hear the conversations he would have with his men as they reported back from visiting various communities. They would tell him how many trucks or wagon loads of supplies they received, and which communities were coming up short on their tributes. From the conversations Michonne figured that there were at least 3 other communities that Negan was controlling besides the Hilltop and Alexandria. She'd secretly relay the information back to the Alexandrians and tell them to be on the lookout for possible allies when they went on runs.

Three months after Negan arrived, it started to get cold outside as winter approached. Glenn took the next step to protect Maggie who was now 5 months pregnant. He approached the family, Michonne and Judith, Carol, Daryl, Rosita, Abraham, and Sasha as they ate together. No matter what horrible and demeaning tasks they had to do during the day, they tried to always eat dinner together out on the grass.

"Hey guys" Glenn started. Everyone looked up at him. "Um... I have to do something, and its not something I want to do, but its what I have to do for my family. For my baby. You're not gonna like it but..."

"Spit it out!" Abraham said loudly.

"I'm gonna join the Saviors" Glenn blurted out.

"What?" Carol asked, genuinely confused.

"I'm gonna be one of them. Join them. There's some kind of a trial process, like pledging, where they test me, but after I'm officially one of them, I can go on longer, more important runs. I can earn more points. I need to do it to support Maggie and the baby."

There was a silence over the group.

"So... since I'll be one of them I won't be able to eat with you guys or be with you anymore. And..." Glenn huffed for a moment as the weight of what he was about to say fell on him. "And if you are planning anything you can't tell me... or Maggie... if I know, I have to report it. I can't talk to you anymore."

"Fuck nuts" Abraham said, shaking his head.

Michonne understood. It was cold sleeping out here every night, and he had two other people to think about. She figured this was a good time to make her announcement as well.

"I'm going to ask Negan if Judy and I can stay in the house, for the winter" she admitted. "It's too cold out here for a baby, and I'd never leave her in that house by herself."

Once again no one said a word. After a few moments, Abraham just said "shit". She knew what they were all thinking, working as his personal assistant, she knew it all too well. The women who stayed in Negan's house were basically his sex toys, using their bodies to earn points.

For the rest of the meal, everyone ate in silence. For the first time since Negan had taken over, the group that had once called themselves a family, were completely and thoroughly broken.

After the meal, Michonne walked over to the lake to get some water to boil so she could brush her teeth before bed. She was surprised when Daryl appeared behind her.

"Hey" he said. "Hey" she replied.

"Look, about what you said, about movin' into that house with Judy. I know you think you're doin' what you have to do. But..." he just shook his head. "We can think of somethin'. We can make it work. I'll earn some more points by goin' on the huntin' parties. We can save up enough to buy a tent for her to sleep in. If we put it close enough to the fire, it'll keep her warm..."

Michonne gently put a hand on Daryl's chest to stop him from talking. "Thank you" she said, "but living in a tent is not going to keep her warm. What about when it snows? This isn't like Georgia, it's not safe for anyone to be out here in the winter, not even you."

Daryl looked down at the ground. He started to chew on his bottom lip, like he did when he was trying to suppress an emotion. Michonne knew he had something to say, so she waited until he was ready to say it.  
He kept looking at the ground as he said "I made Rick a promise, that night when I was keeping watch over him, after he died. I promised him I would take care of his family... you... like you was my own. I promised him I would go back out and find Carl, and I would stay out there till I got him". Daryl looked up at Michonne and his eyes were full of tears now.

"But I didn't do shit. I didn't find Carl, I didn't protect you and Judy, I got my shoulder fucked up so I'm useless... I can't let you live with that man, I can't let you put yourself in danger. I owe it to you, and I owe it to Rick."

Michonne was touched by Daryl's concern. She smiled slightly and gave him a hug for the first time ever. As she held on to him she whispered "Daryl, I know you've done everything that you could. And you did go out there and look for Carl. You got hurt, and you're still hurting, and you're doing everything you can. But you don't owe us anything. We're not your responsibility. I'm not. Carol is your responsibility now, and Judith is mine."

As they broke their hug, and Michonne took a step back, Daryl gave her a nod that he understood. Michonne silently picked up her bucket of water and brought it over to the fire.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They all laid on the ground in their own small family groups, huddling together for warmth. Sasha and Abraham, Carol and Daryl, Glenn and Maggie, Rosita and Spencer, and Michonne and Judy. Michonne laid on her back on the ground, with Judy laying on top of her so she'd stay warm. Judy wasn't sleeping yet, but she laid quietly on Michonne's chest, sucking her thumb. Michonne kissed the side of Judy's head, snuggling her closer.

"I'd do anything for you baby girl, you know that right? Mommy would do anything. Everything I do is for you." Michonne whispered. She looked down at Judy who had quickly fallen asleep. Michonne closed her eyes that night and dreamed of Rick.

 _Rick and Michonne walked hand in hand through the forest. It was a beautiful day, and sunlight peeked through the trees, sending down rays of yellow light. She glanced over at Rick who was grinning as he stared back at her. She stopped walking and turned towards him, still holding on to his hand._

 _"Rick, I have to do something that I never thought I'd do. But I have to. To keep Judy alive. And I... I want to know if you'll forgive me."_

 _She looked down, unable to look him in the eyes. He put his hand under her chin, lifting her head. He didn't say anything._

 _"I don't have anything left" Michonne cried, "I don't have anyone but her. She's why I'm alive right now after I lost you and Carl. She's why I'm still going"_

 _Rick still didn't speak, he just looked into her eyes._

 _"I'll do anything to protect her" Michonne said._

 _She suddenly heard Rick's voice in her head "I know"._

That morning she had the day off from work, but she went to Negan's house, leaving Judy with Rosita who was also off that day. To her surprise, Negan answered the door instead of one of his guards. He seemed startled to see her.

"You're off today" he said.

"I know. I need to talk to you." she responded.

He moved to the side and gave her entrance to the house. As she walked past him she felt his eyes staring at her behind as he usually did. She rolled her eyes and stopped in the middle of the hallway, not wanting to move any deeper into the house.

"It's getting cold outside. I want to stay in here with Judy, just for the winter months." she said, getting straight to the point.

He looked at her slightly surprised.

"I thought you said you weren't going to stay here with me" he threw back, using her words against her.  
Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not staying here with you or for you. I'm staying here to get my daughter out of the cold. And I will be paying for..."

She realized she smelled something burning.

"What is that smell?" she asked, looking around.

"Fuck!" he cursed, running into the kitchen. She followed him and saw something burning on the stove. The smoke was making it's way up to the ceiling, and Michonne quickly opened the kitchen window to let the smoke out. She watched with a mix between amusement and annoyance as he tried to put the fire in the pan out. He was destroying her kitchen.

"What was that supposed to be?" she asked, gesturing to the pile of ashes that now lay in the bottom of the burned pan.

"Fuck!" he said again, "pancakes"

Michonne couldn't help but let out a chuckle. It was the first time she'd ever laughed in his presence. He looked up from the burned pancakes to her face and smiled. His smile immediately made her smile drop away.

"Like I was saying, I'll be paying for our stay here. While we're here I'll cook breakfast and dinner as payment" she said, nodding towards the pancakes. "You obviously need help".

He chuckled, dropping the pan on the kitchen counter.

"And what if I require more payment than that?" he asked, staring at her.

She stared back into his eyes. "Then fuck you" she said, turning around to leave.

He let her get to the front door and then yelled "wait!".

She paused and he came out the kitchen, meeting her in the hallway. "OK, you can stay in the small room upstairs and you'll cook for me, starting tonight" he said.

"Just so we're clear" Michonne said, looking directly at him "if you touch me or my daughter, I will kill you"

"Fair enough" he agreed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With Michonne moving back into her former house, she realized how much the house had changed, and how much it was no longer her home. Her bedroom that she shared with Rick was devoid of all of their belongings, probably auctioned off to the most loyal Saviors. Her bed in which she'd made love to Rick on was now used by Negan for his nightly romps with whatever hungry or cold Alexandrian or Savior woman wanted to come by. Her couch where she had finally realized her love for Rick and had her first kiss with him was marked by Negan's boots and stained with spilled drinks and food. Carl's room was completely empty. All of his things had been removed, and they probably met the fate of Rick and Michonne's personal items.

The only room that was even remotely the way she'd remembered was Judith's room.

For some reason no one had bothered to remove the crib, it was probably too heavy and cumbersome to get out the door, and so it was left pretty much the way it had always been.

Every night, after Michonne cooked Negan's dinner, she would carry Judy upstairs to their room and lock the door. She'd wash Judy and brush her teeth, lay her in her crib, and then go through their usual nightly ritual.

As Judy laid down, gazing up at Michonne, Michonne would say, "You had a daddy named Rick who loved you so much. You had a brother named Carl who loved you so much. And you have a mommy named Michonne who loves you so much. Your name is Judy, and you are loved."

As time progressed and Judy's vocabulary did as well, she would start to imitate Michonne during their nightly ritual, so Michonne began to let Judy fill in the names of her family members.

Michonne would say "You had a daddy named..."

"Wick!" Judy would yell in her adorable toddler voice.

"who loved you so much. You had a brother named..."

"Arl!"

"who loved you so much. And you have a..."

"mommy"

"named..."

"M'Chonne"

"who loves you so much. Your name is..."

"Ooody"

"and you are..."

"loveeeeeeed" Judy would always yell at the end.

Michonne would always smile and say "Goodnight baby girl", kissing Judy on the head and turning off the light. She would then clutch the knife that she had managed to steal from the kitchen long ago, and lay on the floor, stretching her legs across the room's door so that anyone entering the room would immediately wake her up.

Often, as Judy slept and sleep unfortunately evaded Michonne, she'd hear the squeaking of her former mattress, as Negan conquered another woman for the night.

Michonne was genuinely shocked that Negan had not tried to harass her in the time she had stayed in the house. He seemed genuinely grateful for the two meals a day that she cooked for him, the council that she gave him as his personal assistant, and her washing his clothes. As Michonne thought about it, she shook her head in disbelief of how much she actually did for this monster.

 _I'm practically his wife._

The realization that she basically did everything that a wife would do, hit her like a ton of bricks. She didn't even realize how intimately she knew the ins and outs of his life. How he liked his eggs and coffee, which of his guards he trusted and which he didn't, whether he wore boxers or briefs. She did almost everything for him, except... well, what he was getting in the next room.

Michonne felt sick, nauseous. She couldn't believe how much of her soul she'd sold since Rick died. She really wasn't the same person anymore. A part of her had died, and left a woman with a one track mind. Judy. She was all that mattered anymore.

Michonne wasn't sure if Negan would try to complete her transformation, and truly turn her into his wife, but she wasn't letting her guard down for a minute. She clutched her knife to her chest for reassurance, and after a few minutes she fell asleep on the floor.


	10. Chapter 10

**A few days ago:**

"Mommy I'm hungee" Judith whined, grabbing hold of Michonne's leg and yanking on her pants.

"I know baby" Michonne said, looking away from the stove long enough to pat Judith's head. "I'm almost done and then we'll go get breakfast" she explained.

"I want dat" Judith said, her tiny finger pointing at the bacon Michonne was making for Negan.

"I know, but this is Negan's" Michonne said bitterly. "Our food is in the pantry, just be patient baby"

"Daaaaatttt" Judith moaned, still pointing at the bacon. Michonne admitted it smelled delicious, and even her stomach was growling at the smell, but she and Judith never ate with Negan. The deal was that Michonne cooked the food, but Negan didn't share.

Judith was on the verge of a tantrum, and Michonne had to nip it in the bud. "Judith Grimes" Michonne said sternly, "don't you dare start that crying. We will go get some food in a minute when I'm done. You sit right here on the chair like a good girl, and while you're waiting mommy will sing you a song". Judith stood there with her arms crossed, staring Michonne down. Michonne was amused and a little impressed at the intensity in the two and a half year old's stare. It reminded Michonne of herself.

"Don't look at me like that Judith. Go sit down." Michonne said again. Judith huffed as she climbed into the chair more or less obediently.

"What song do you want me to sing?" Michonne asked, flipping the bacon over so the other side could cook.

"Wheels on da bus!" Judith yelled, suddenly excited.

"Ok, but you have to sing with me" Michonne said.

Michonne started to sing the wheels on the bus, with Judith doing all the sound effects. They got up to the babies on the bus go "wah wah wah" when Negan walked in, singing along with them. When Michonne heard his voice she immediately stopped singing and spun around. Negan finished the verse with Judith, and then patted her on the head.

Michonne immediately ran across the kitchen and snatched Judith off the chair, and out of Negan's reach. Judith was startled and tears bubbled to her eyes as she looked back and forth between Michonne and Negan, but she didn't cry out loud.

"I told you not to touch her" Michonne growled, staring Negan down.

"Good morning to you too. Fuck! Someone woke up on the wrong side of the floor today". Negan mumbled, sitting down at the table.

"How are you today Judy?" Negan asked.

"Good" Judith answered politely.

"Don't talk to her" Michonne said shortly to Negan. She put Judith down and said "Go get your shoes baby girl, we're about to leave". Judith gave Michonne a confused look, and then looked back over at Negan. She then followed her mother's instructions, going to find her shoes.

Negan chuckled. Michonne backed towards the stove, not turning her back on Negan. She quickly shut the fire off, and dumped the pieces of bacon on to a plate.

"Here" she said, dropping the plate on the table.

Judith returned to the kitchen holding her shoes in her hand. Michonne picked her up and put her in a chair so she could put the shoes on her feet. Negan watched as Judith looked longingly over at the plate of bacon.

"You want a piece?" Negan asked Judith. Judith quickly looked at Michonne. "I told you not to talk to her" Michonne responded.

"Well I'll talk to you then. Why don't y'all come join me for breakfast. You did cook it after all" Negan said.

"We're fine" Michonne said, finally finishing with Judith's shoes.

"Sit" Negan demanded. Michonne's head whipped around in disbelief at him ordering her to do something.

"Please" he said, patting the chair next to him.

"Mommy, I want dat" Judith said again, pointing at the bacon.

"All she's had for months is applesauce, it's not healthy for her. She needs protein." Negan said.

"Who's fault is that?" Michonne yelled. "Maybe if you gave me more points I could get her something else to eat! Or if you let me out the gates for once. Don't sit here and act like you have her best interest in mind. The only one you ever care about is yourself."

Judith's eyes got wide as she watched her mother yell at Negan. Michonne quickly picked Judith up and left the house, slamming the door behind her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Mommy, why you yell at Negan?" Judith asked, as she and Michonne were on the line to buy food at the pantry. Michonne quickly looked around and noticed a few other people were staring at her, interested in the conversation.

"Shhh baby" Michonne said quietly, "I'll talk to you somewhere else". She led Judith over to the counter. "Give me a jar of applesauce and a jar of peanut butter" Michonne said to the Savior at the counter. "We're out of peanut butter" he said. "I see two jars right behind you" Michonne said, annoyed. "The prices have been raised, peanut butter is twenty points now, seeing as we only have two jars left" the man replied, grinning at Michonne.

Michonne was not in the mood to play with this man. "Give me the peanut butter. Now. I'm not in the mood."

The grin left his face. "Who are you talking to? You Alexandrian bitches think you can come up in here any which way just 'cuz you're banging Negan. Doesn't work that way babes. You don't treat me with respect..." The man's words were cut off as Michonne grabbed him by the neck.

"Give me my peanut butter now" she growled.

Everyone else in the pantry stared as Michonne let go of the man. Stunned, the man reached down and passed her a jar of peanut butter and an applesauce. "It's nine points, take it off my tab" Michonne said over her shoulder as she grabbed Judith's hand and led her away from the counter.

As she was walking out, she heard someone say a little too loudly "that's Negan's hoe, don't mess with her". Michonne had half the mind to turn back around, but she was with Judy and she didn't want to cause more trouble. She was fuming. Partly because the man tried to jip her out of food for herself and her daughter, and partly because people were whispering about she and Negan behind her back. She had realized that people must think they had a sexual relationship, but to hear it actually being said hurt her.

She led Judy over to a spot by the lake so they could eat. Although it was chilly outside, it was warm enough for them to stay out for a little bit. "Do you want applesauce or peanut butter?" Michonne asked her, already knowing her answer. "Peanut butter!" Judy yelled. The girl had grown up eating applesauce and she tried to avoid it at all costs. It was a sensitive subject for Michonne because she wished she could give the girl more options of food, but the point system didn't allow that.

Michonne handed Judy a spoon and let her eat the peanut butter straight out the jar. Michonne pulled out another spoon and started on the applesauce. They ate together in silence, watching the lake. Michonne's mind wandered once again to what was said about her in the pantry. Her face must've shown it because Judy reached over and grabbed her arm.

"Mommy you look mad" she said.

Michonne snapped out of her haze and smiled at Judy "I'm ok baby".

"Why you yell at Negan?" she asked.

Michonne couldn't help but chuckle at the little girl. For a two year old she was extremely perceptive and she remembered everything. She could be distracted for a while, but she would never forget if she had a question about something.

"Negan can be bad sometimes, and I don't want him to touch you" Michonne tried to explain.

"Negan is bad?" Judith repeated.

"Yes, sometimes"

Judith was quiet after that, trying to reason in her two year old mind. "Why's he bad?" Judith asked.

"Sometimes he hurts people" Michonne said.

"You hurt people?" Judith asked. Michonne was once again floored at Judith's questions. She didn't know how to respond. Judith had just seen her grab a man's neck.

"Yes sometimes" Michonne said.

"Are you bad?" Judith asked.

Michonne sighed. She never thought a little girl could trip her up so much. Michonne lifted Judy and let her kneel on her lap so she was facing her. Michonne looked into Judy's little brown eyes.

"Sometimes I do things that are bad, but I do it to keep you safe. I'm your mommy and I would never hurt you. Do you believe me Judy?"

Judy nodded her little head and gave Michonne a hug. Michonne kissed Judy's cheek and then reached over to clean up their excess food. The applesauce and peanut butter would be their lunch as well.

After breakfast, Michonne made her way back into the house. As she walked past the kitchen she saw the plate of bacon was still on the table with a note.

 _I left this for the kid, she could use this more than I can_.

Michonne rolled her eyes and left the plate and the note exactly where it was. She gave Judy her doll that Daryl had carved out of a piece of wood, and let her play with it in the bathroom while Michonne hand washed Negan's clothing. As she reached into Negan's jeans, Michonne found a crumpled up piece of paper. She opened it and found another note.

 _Thanks for washing my clothes._

Michonne was completely floored. She couldn't believe he actually wrote a note to her and left it in his jeans for her to find. Why? Was this some kind of mind game?

She checked his other clothing looking for notes, but it was just that one. She hated to admit it, but it bothered her that he would do something so intimate. It was something Rick would do, it was something a husband would do. She wasn't having it. She immediately tore up the note.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few hours later, Negan entered the house with four of his men, looking agitated. Michonne wanted to confront him about leaving notes around, but she knew not to do it in front of his men. She was curious about why he was upset, and so she tried to stay in the kitchen where they couldn't see her, but listen in on the conversation.

"Who the fuck told that idiot to take a fucking hostage?" Negan spat. "The whole goal was to get the Kingdom to give us a wagon and a half of supplies from now on. No one told Connor to grab a fucking knight in the process. Now the Kingdom's gonna be up our asses!" Negan was yelling.

The four Saviors who entered with Negan just kept their heads down as he ranted.

Negan kicked the couch in the living room, moving it slightly from it's original position. "I should've just knocked that dumb-ass on his ass right in front of the Kingdomites. Now we have a fucking war because of that piece of shit! I can't tell them it was a mistake, it makes it look like I can't control my men!" Negan plopped himself on to the couch, resting his hand against his eyes.

His men stood there afraid to move. "Go drag that bastard outside and wait for me. Lucille is gonna get fed today."

Negan's men left quickly. Michonne didn't move from her spot in the kitchen.

"How much did you hear?" Negan yelled from the living room. She ignored him, but walked into the living room.

"Did you get my note?" he asked, a sly grin forming on his lips.

"Don't ever leave me anything like that again" Michonne said.

"Wow, I was just trying to show some fucking gratitude" Negan replied.

"You don't have to show gratitude. I'm not doing anything for _you_. I'm working. This is a job. This means my daughter gets fed. I'm not your little girlfriend, and I'm sure as hell not your little wife. And you can keep your bacon too. If you wanna do something nice, pay me enough points to care for my girl properly."

Negan just looked at her, his mouth slightly agape.

"Shit. That's the last time I'll do anything nice for you." he said.

"Good" Michonne answered, spinning around and heading upstairs to check on Judith.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that day, everyone was forced to go outside to watch the execution of the man Michonne assumed Negan was talking about in the house. Apparently, he kidnapped one of another community's men without permission as Negan was trying to extort them for more supplies.

Although executions didn't happen often, when they did the whole community was forced to come out, children included. Michonne looked around and saw her family, skinny and sickly looking from sleeping outside in the cold and not eating nearly enough. Everyone's eyes were sunken in with bags underneath. It made her not want to look at them.

She looked towards the Saviors and saw Glenn and Maggie holding baby Hershel, standing with them. He kept his eyes on the ground and was sure not to glance in the direction of the rest of the group. Michonne hadn't spoken to him since that night when he announced he would join the Saviors.

Michonne held Judy in her arms and told her not to look. Judy buried her face in Michonne's neck as Negan beat the man to death with Lucille. Afterwards there was just silence, as people went back to their normal tasks and jobs for the day. Michonne watched as Glenn kissed Maggie and then followed a group of Saviors towards a truck.

 _Probably off to extort some more innocent people_ Michonne thought bitterly, but she couldn't blame Glenn and she didn't. She was just as guilty for working for the enemy as he was.

As Michonne headed back to the house with Judy, she walked past two female Saviors and one of them whispered "Negan's hoe", causing the other one to laugh. Michonne put Judy down and told her to stay right there. Michonne then walked up to the women.

"Do you have something you want to say to me?" she asked.

"No, I think we pretty much said it" one of the women replied, turning to her partner to laugh.

"If I were you, I'd keep my stupid comments to myself. Especially since you've visited Negan at night three times in the past month, and unlike all his other conquests he immediately kicks you out when he's done. Ask your friend, at least she gets to stay the night. So which one of us is the hoe?"

And with that, Michonne turned around, grabbed Judy's hand and walked off while the women stared after her. As they walked, Judy asked "mommy what's a hoe?" "It's something you use to dig up a garden sweetie" Michonne replied.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rest of that day Negan pretty much left Michonne alone. The plate of bacon she had cooked that morning lay sitting on the table where she left it, and she thought about what a waste it was. She picked up a piece and gave it to Judy. "Mommy what's this?" Judith asked. "It's bacon" Michonne replied. As Judith chewed on it she said "mmmm I like bacon". Michonne picked up the rest of the plate, grabbed Judy's hand, and brought the pieces out to her family who was living outside.

"Where did you get this?" Carol asked, closing her eyes to savor the taste. "Negan's breakfast of champions" Michonne said rolling her eyes.

"Damn that's good. Haven't had bacon in so long. Thanks Michonne" Daryl said.

When Michonne got over to where Abraham was he took one look at the plate in her hand and said "what in sweet heaven is that wonderful smell?" She flashed him a smile. "Bacon". He jumped up and ran over to her nearly knocking the plate out of her hand. "Just one piece!" She warned, "save some for Sasha and Rosita".  
He greedily stuffed the bacon in his mouth, moaning with pleasure. He then wrapped Michonne in a hug, lifting her off the ground.

"Ok ok!" Michonne laughed "you're welcome. Here save these two pieces for the girls". Michonne still had one more piece left and she knew who she wanted to take it to.

Maggie had it rough since Glenn joined the saviors. Although everyone understood why he did it, it still didn't make it easy to accept. He had pretty much exiled himself from the family and therefore Maggie had as well. It was hard for her, dealing with a newborn son on her own with no support from the people she had lived with for years. Michonne knew what she had to do. She asked Abraham if he could watch Judith for a few minutes.

She hurried across to one of the few standing houses, where many of the Saviors slept. Although it was cramped quarters, it was warm, and slightly safer than outdoors. Michonne knocked on the front door and an older man answered.

"Is Maggie in there?" Michonne asked.

"Maggie?" The man asked confused.

"the woman with the baby"

"Oh her, yea hold on".

A minute later, Maggie came to the door looking exhausted, but the moment she saw it was Michonne her face lit up. She closed the door behind her and happily gave Michonne a hug.

Michonne held on to her tightly. "How are you doing?" She asked. Maggie kept on hugging Michonne, not answering. After a minute of silence Michonne could feel Maggie's shoulders shaking and she realized Maggie was crying. Michonne slowly pulled herself away to look at Maggie's face.

It was obvious she hadn't been sleeping well, her eyes were puffy partly due to her tears, but partly due to sleep exhaustion. She, like everyone else had lost weight, but Michonne was more concerned about her because she was breastfeeding a newborn and had to eat.

"Maggie, what's going on?" Michonne asked her. When Maggie didn't answer, Michonne took her hand and pulled her over to one of the benches in front of the house and they both sat.

"I'm just tired" she said. "I'm so tired. With the baby I'm up all night, but even when he's sleepin' _I_ can't, 'cuz I'm livin' in a house with people I don't know or trust. You guys hate me and Glenn for what we've done..."

Michonne cut her off. "We don't hate you"

"Well I hate myself then, and then Glenn... He's like a different person. He doesn't tell me everything that goes on when he goes out, but I know he's had to do stuff that's changed him. He is different. I know he still loves me and Hershel, but... We don't talk anymore. When he gets home he just sleeps and then goes back out again. And I can't... I just can't handle it much longer Michonne. I can't live like this much longer."

Maggie finally took a breath. It seemed like her words all tumbled out of her mouth without her being able to stop them. She looked up at Michonne and Michonne was smiling at her.

"Did that feel good, to get it all out?" She asked.

"Yea... Yea it did. I haven't had anyone to talk to since we moved in here. Thank you Michonne." Maggie returned her smile.

"I have something else that might make you feel better" Michonne said, showing Maggie the wrapped up package she had.

"Is that?... No. Is that bacon?" She asked.

"Yup" Michonne said proudly. "Straight from the hilltop, to Negan's breakfast table, to your mouth." She said as she pushed the napkin into Maggie's hand.

Maggie quickly opened the napkin, smelling it, and then took a bite. "This is so good! How did u get this? Did he let you take this?"

"Let's just say I put his food to good use" Michonne said.

"You won't get in trouble for this will you?" Maggie asked, concerned.

"No. Don't worry." Michonne reassured her.

There was silence as Maggie finished her bacon. She then sighed and held Michonne's hand.

"How are you holding up? Y'know, livin' over there?"

"I'm ok, as long as Judy is ok, y'know?"

"It must be hard, livin' in that house. Are you still dreaming about Rick?" Maggie asked.

Michonne froze, she didn't tell anyone else about her dreams. Maggie saw the look on her face and smiled.  
"You've said his name in your sleep once or twice... when we were sleepin' outside"

"Oh" Michonne said, a little embarrassed. "Yea, I am. I do. Almost every night. It... it's kind of like he's still here with me, if I can see him when I'm sleeping."

Maggie just nodded.

"How is... how are you with... Negan?" Maggie asked, a little awkwardly.

"I work for him, that's it" Michonne said, getting a little defensive.

"I thought... I mean, you've been living with him for months now... and you know how it is... with him."

Michonne looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring something up... It's none of my business really. Sorry."

"No, it's ok" Michonne said softly "we haven't done anything. I work for him and I sleep in my room with Judy. That's it."

"Ok" Maggie said.

"So I should be getting back. I left Judy with Abraham, there's no telling what he's allowing her to do. He'd let her shoot an AK-47 if she said pretty please" Michonne joked, and Maggie laughed.

"Thank you for stopping by Michonne. It was so good to talk to family. I miss you guys, please don't be a stranger."

"I won't. I'll bring Judith by some time this week. Ok?"

"Ok" Maggie said, and they hugged again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That night, Michonne was sitting on the living room floor with Judy, teaching her to count on her fingers, when Negan came home with a woman. From the way he was walking, Michonne could tell he was drunk. She silently scooped up Judy and began carrying her upstairs when Negan called.

"Hey! Where you fucking going? You're supposed to make me dinner tonight."

"I will, after I put my daughter to bed" Michonne said.

"No, you're gonna do it now" Negan called, slurring his words.

Michonne continued up the stairs and headed for Judy's bedroom. She put Judy into the crib and began their nightly ritual.

"You had a daddy named..."

"Rick! Who loved me so much." Judy responded

"Michonne!" she heard her name being yelled from downstairs but she ignored it.

"You had a brother named..."

"Carl! Who loved me so much" Judy said

"And you have a mommy named..."

"Michonne! who loves me so much" Judy said

"Michonne get down here!" Negan yelled.

"My name is Judy and I am loved" Judy finished all by herself.

"Yes you are baby girl, now go to sleep" Michonne said, kissing Judy's head.

"Mommy?" Judith asked "Is Negan being bad?"

Michonne smiled a little. "Yes probably, but you know mommy won't let him hurt you".

Michonne turned and walked out the room, blowing Judy a kiss before she closed the door. She walked back down the stairs and Negan was waiting for her at the bottom.

"I told you to come back here" he said.

"I told you I would, but I had to put my daughter to bed" she responded.

He glared at her, and then Michonne noticed the woman who he had taken home tonight, it was the one that had called her a hoe earlier. Michonne gave her the side eye, and then sauntered into the kitchen.

"What do you want?" she yelled.

"Make us a sandwich" the woman called back.

Michonne rolled her eyes.

"What do you want _Negan_?" she emphasized.

"A fucking sandwich" he said, slurring heavily.

Michonne began making two sandwiches, as Negan and his "date" sat on her couch. They were discussing something, but then it suddenly went quiet.

Michonne finished making the sandwiches, and brought the two plates into the living room when she noticed Negan and the woman on the couch making out. On _her_ couch. The couch where she and Rick had made out, and realized their love for each other. Although it wasn't the most obvious time for her to have an emotional reaction, something inside of her broke, seeing that scene. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and she slammed the plates on the end table and turned to make a quick get away up the steps before they noticed she was crying.

Suddenly she felt fingers closing around her wrist. Negan had grabbed her. "Don't touch me!" she yelled, pulling away from him, but he wouldn't let go. The other woman who was still kissing Negan, finally realized he wasn't kissing her back and unlocked her lips from his face. "Get off of me!" Michonne screamed. Negan held Michonne's wrist with one hand, pulling her towards him and making her almost fall into his lap. He reached around her with the other hand and grabbed her butt. Michonne was enraged, and quickly punched him in the nose, making him swiftly let go. She glanced a stream of blood pouring from his nose before she turned and scrambled upstairs to Judy's room, locking the door and grabbing her knife.

Michonne tried to be as quiet as possible, as Judy was still fast asleep. She could hear the woman downstairs asking Negan if he was ok, and Negan moaning in response. "You can't let her get away with that" the woman said "She punched you! You need to punish her." The woman continued to egg Negan on until Michonne could hear unsteady footsteps coming up the stairs. She looked around the room for something she could prop up against the door to keep it closed, but there was nothing besides Judith's crib. She crouched down and clutched her knife, prepared to stab anyone that got through the locked door.

Suddenly there was banging at her door, so loud it woke Judith up. "Open the door" Negan called, slurring his words so that it sounded like one word. Michonne didn't answer.

"Mommy?" Judith asked, terrified. "It's ok baby" Michonne whispered, "Shhh". Judith sat down in her crib, clutching her blanket.

The banging continued. "Open the fucking door Michonne!" Negan slurred. Michonne could hear the woman coming up the steps as well. "Knock her door down Negan, she broke your nose!" the woman instigated. Michonne was furious that the woman was not only instigating, but she had the nerve to come upstairs in _her_ house. She was more angry at the woman than she was Negan.

 _I will kill him and that bitch_ Michonne thought.

Michonne glanced at Judith and she could see tears coming down her face. The girl was terrified. Michonne picked Judith up out of her crib and held her in one arm, with the other arm holding the knife. Judith buried her face in Michonne's neck.

"It'll be ok baby, mommy won't let anyone hurt you" she said, smoothing down Judith's hair.

Suddenly the knocking on the door turned into ramming. Negan was using something to ram the door down. Michonne quickly placed Judith in the closet. "Stay here and don't come out until mommy gets you ok?" Michonne said to her. Judith nodded, crouching down and hiding under some of Michonne's shirts.

"Negan, stop banging on the door" Michonne said, trying to reason with him. "We had a deal, you said you wouldn't touch me and you went against that deal. I said I would kill you but I didn't. You were in the wrong not me. You're drunk. Go sleep it off and we'll talk in the morning."

"No. Come out." he said, sounding like an indignant child.

"I'm not coming out of here until you're sober" Michonne said.

She heard him say "fine" and then she heard footsteps walking away.

She let out a sigh of relief and was about to tell Judy she could come out of the closet, when she heard someone running at her door, and a crack as they burst through


	11. Chapter 11

**The present day**

Carl and Tamia were quiet on the way back home to the Kingdom, the only sound was the horse's hooves clicking on the pavement. His mind was racing. He knew for sure that Glenn, Maggie, their baby, Michonne, and Judy were still alive. Negan had taken over Alexandria and made his family slaves. Glenn had joined the Saviors, but he was on the Kingdom's side. Carl felt as though the past that he had worked so hard to hide and forget was finally catching up with him.

Tamia watched Carl out of the corner of her eye as he stared ahead. She could tell he was deep in thought. She didn't want to interrupt him, but she was dying to know what was going on, and who that man was who knew him.

"Carl" she called, but he didn't seem to hear her. "Carl!" she said a little more loudly.

He jumped a little at her voice and turned towards her. "Carl, what is going on?" she whispered to him so that the knights behind them couldn't hear.

He sighed. He didn't want to tell her right now, right here, but she deserved to know. She had stood with him for a long time, and if he told anyone he'd tell her first.

"I know... knew... that man. He was part of the group I was with before I came to the Kingdom. I traveled with him for years. He was family." Carl paused and Tamia patiently waited for him to continue. "He told me that people I thought were dead are still alive. He told me where the town is, that Negan is living in. It's a town that I used to live in." He stopped, thinking that Tamia might say something, but she just looked at him until he continued.

"My family, I thought they were dead, I hoped they weren't, but now I know they're not. But Negan is keeping them as slaves. That man told me he would send someone to the kingdom so we could make a plan to help them overthrow Negan. With the town and the Kingdom working together, we can do it."

Tamia just nodded. "So you have a family now" she said. Carl didn't know how to interpret her words. He couldn't tell if she was accusing him, being genuine, or pitying him.

"I... I know I told you they were dead. I wasn't honest with you. I have a little sister who's alive, and... my mom. Well... she's not my mom, but she is. And I think... the man, Glenn... he said she was doing what she had to do to stay alive, and I'm afraid of what that could be. I'm afraid for her and my sister."

Carl sighed, slightly relieved to be getting everything off his chest.

"There's more. I didn't lose my eye the way I told you. A boy shot me, he was mad that my dad killed his dad, and he shot me. And I was only in the woods for a day or two before the kingdom guards found me, not months like I said"

"Why did you leave your people?" Tamia asked. "You said you lived in a town, and it has walls. Why did you leave?"

Carl looked away, anywhere but at Tamia. He didn't want to face her when he spoke. "I'm the reason my dad died."

She looked shocked. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"We were out on a run. He told me not to use my gun, not to attract attention, but a walker surprised me and I shot it without thinking. When my dad and I were leaving, these men pulled up, they must've heard the shot. My dad pushed me behind some bushes and they didn't see me, but they saw him. He was talking to them and the whole time I had my gun up, pointed at the man he was talking to. I could've ended it right there. I could've saved him, but I waited, and they shot him right in front of me. They dragged him off and dumped him in a van. It was all because of me. I couldn't move because..." tears started rolling down Carl's face but he didn't wipe them away.

"Because I was scared. I was a coward. And I couldn't go back to my family after that. I was too ashamed."  
Tamia just listened with her mouth hanging slightly open.

"Everyone here thinks I'm so brave, so smart, but they don't know who I really am" Carl said, finally wiping his tears.

"Yes they do Carl. We think you're brave and smart because you are. You just proved it not 30 minutes ago. It doesn't matter what happened in your past because you're different now anyway. You feed and protect this community, that's why everyone respects you". Tamia pulled her horse, Ghost, closer to Carl and she reached across and grabbed his hand.

"I don't know who you were before, but I've known you for a year now and I know for a fact you're not a coward. So please, don't call yourself that around me. And I'm sure when we get back to your town your family will be so happy to see you." Tamia paused for a moment and stared ahead, suddenly lost in thought.  
"I never told you what happened to me, before I got here. I was at a camp with my mom and my three sisters. I was the oldest, so my mom made me watch them a lot while she worked. She was one of the cooks in the camp. One day I was in the tent, doing... something... I don't even remember now. The tent flap was open and my little sisters were playing outside. I heard screams, but I thought it was them fooling around. I ignored them. They kept screaming and I realized these weren't normal screams. I jumped up and looked out the tent and..."

Tamia's eyes opened wide as if she were actually reliving what she'd seen. Carl reached across the horses, rubbing her thigh. The touch seemed to snap her out of her flashback.

"I saw a walker on top of my youngest sister, Tanya, eating her throat out. And I froze too. She was still alive. She was looking at me. She... She was reaching for me. I know if she could've talked, she would've called for me, she would've said to save her."

"What did you do?" Carl asked quietly.

"I grabbed my other sisters and I ran. I left her. I know she saw me. That was the last thing she ever saw. We ran to find my mom. Somehow the gates got taken down. The walkers were everywhere. We got to the kitchen but we couldn't find my mom. I didn't know what to do. People were trampling each other to get away so I just dragged my sisters in the direction everyone else was going. My sister, Tamra, tripped and she got trampled by the people behind us. I couldn't stop to help her or I'd get trampled too. So I just had one sister left. I dragged her as far as I could. We got out the camp somehow, with a group of 5 other people. That night, my sister, Tia, got up to use the bathroom, and one of the other people on watch shot her on her way back."

Carl couldn't hide his horrified gasp.

"It didn't kill her right away, she got shot in the shoulder, but we couldn't do anything for her. It took her two days to die. It was the worse out of all the deaths. The people we were with wanted to move on, they didn't want to stay so close to the herd and the camp we came from, but we couldn't move her. So they mumbled and grumbled about her dying too slowly."

Tamia cried hysterically, remembering her traumatic experience. "She was barely conscious and I... I knew it was time for her to go. I had seen other people who died and came back, and I knew she would too. I asked if someone would kill her so she wouldn't come back, but no one wanted to. I was the only kid, and they were adults and... and they made me do it. I had to..."

Carl stopped his horse and grabbed Tamia's horse's reigns to stop it as well. He hopped off of Judy's back and walked around to Tamia, gently pulling her off her horse. He then wrapped his arms around her and held her. The other knights were staring at them. They hadn't heard the conversation between them, but they knew something big had happened.

"Tamia I'm so so sorry" Carl whispered "I'm so sorry". Tamia just sobbed, burying her head into Carl's shoulder as he rubbed her back. "You don't have to talk about it anymore".

Tamia was quiet for a minute, still holding on to Carl. She then said "No. I want to. I haven't told anyone everything. Not even Ezekiel."

She took a deep breath.

"After I killed my sister, I took all my belongings which was a dirty blanket that I found, and left that group. I just picked a road and started walking. I had nothing left and I thought I'd die soon. I got to the highway and walked. I wasn't even looking at the signs. As I passed rest stops I would try to look for food but there wasn't much that wasn't picked over. I would sometimes find cars with walkers in them and I'd scavenge in there because I knew they probably hadn't been picked over yet. I did that for weeks. I couldn't believe I was still alive after one day, but I made it. I survived."

"I was wandering around, living day to day, minute to minute. Occasionally, I would come across people in small camps, but I would hide from them. There were things that I saw, people hurting other people... I didn't trust anyone... and then I just passed out one day. I remember just collapsing and I couldn't move anymore, and I thought 'This is it. Finally I can get out of here. It's over.' I just laid there. And then some knights found me and brought me here. When I found out I was in Washington I was shocked. I had no idea I'd walked that far. I started in Atlanta."

Carl just looked at her in wonder. He knew she was a badass but he had no idea she'd gone through so much, and walked so far by herself. He felt embarrassed to even compare his problems to hers.

Tamia seemed to read his mind. "We both have had horrible things happen to us, they're equally horrible. The point is that we've kept going. If I didn't, I never would've found you, and you never would've found me. Giving up doesn't help anyone. And just because we're weak sometimes, doesn't mean we're cowards. You and me, we're warriors."

Carl smiled and held Tamia tighter to his chest. He then leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "We're warriors" he repeated. He looked into Tamia's watery eyes and said "I love you so much". "I love you Carl" she repeated.

He led Tamia over to Ghost, and helped her back up on to her horse, even though he knew she'd been riding horses longer than he had. Carl then climbed on Judy's back, and they continued home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ezekiel paced nervously across the school's stage. It was getting dark. He was waiting for the knights to return with news about whether or not the deal was successful and if Negan's men accepted the half a wagon of supplies in return for Sir Larry.

He also wanted to know the whereabouts of Carl and Princess Tamia. He knew that Tamia was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, she had walked from Atlanta to Washington DC by herself, with no supplies, during the apocalypse for heaven's sake. He also knew that Carl would give his life to protect Tamia, he was sure of it. But he still felt guilty for sending them on such a risky mission. And he knew that he wouldn't have been able to do it himself.

He decided to take a walk to the stables to calm his nerves. The horses always made him feel better. As he walked out of the school building he heard the guards signal someone's approach with a short blow from a bull horn. Ezekiel raced to the gates as they opened, revealing Carl and Tamia, with the knights, the wagon of supplies, and Sir Larry sitting in the back of the wagon.

Ezekiel's mouth opened in surprise, wondering how they managed to bring back Larry _and_ the wagon. He was relieved that no one looked hurt.

"You're back!" Ezekiel exclaimed happily, lifting Tamia off of her horse and hugging her. "Are you ok?".

"Yes father" she replied.

Ezekiel nodded and then turned to Carl "what happened?". Carl gave a slight smirk. "We got Larry and the wagon, and now I know where Negan's headquarters are." Carl said smiling. "And... we have allies". Ezekiel gave Carl a big hug, patting him on the back. He grabbed Tamia's hand and put his hand on Carl's back.  
"Come my boy, I see we have much to speak about"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carl was sitting in Tamia's room, checking out his missing eye in the mirror. The skin around the wound had long healed, creating a smooth area of skin where there should have been an eye. Dr. Denise had done an excellent job of pulling the skin over the empty socket so that his wound wouldn't be too horrifying. He had stopped wearing the bandage over his eye long ago, and he was comfortable leaving the wound the way it was. He had been self-conscious about it for a long time, especially when meeting new people, but Tamia hadn't cared about his external wounds.

As he checked out the wound his mind went to Michonne. He had to get back to Alexandria to help her. She was always the second in command in Alexandria, and with Rick dying she was the one in charge. She must've been the one Negan targeted with his brutality when he moved in, Glenn had alluded to that much. Carl knew she would protect Judy at all costs, and he knew that had to be what Negan was holding against her.

Lost in his thoughts, Carl didn't notice Tamia re-enter her room. She moved up behind him, startling him. "Sorry" she said when he jumped. "What are you doing?" she asked, resting her hands on his shoulders.  
"I was just thinking" he replied, "about my family, and how to help them". Tamia rubbed Carl's shoulders. "We will" she said. They stayed in a comfortable silence for a while and then she slowly moved her hands from Carl's shoulders to his hair.

"Carl? Is there a reason why you never cut your hair?"

Carl smiled. "You sound like Mich... my mom, she used to ask me that all the time. I like it long like this". He moved his eye up to meet hers in the mirror. "Why?... You don't like it like this?" he asked.

"Well, you haven't cut it in at least a year, and at this point it's longer than mine... so no. Sorry." she said, smiling as she ran her fingers through it. "But I have a solution if you don't want to cut it. I'll corn row it for you. Like mine."

Carl laughed. "So I look like a girl?"

"Well you kinda look like a girl now, so I think this will be an upgrade" Tamia joked. Both of them laughed.

"Can you do that with my kind of hair? You know, I'm not black."

Tamia snatched her hands away from Carl so fast it startled him. "What? You lied to me all this time!?" Tamia asked, and it took Carl a few moments to realize she was joking.

"Duh dummy" she said giving him a hug. "It'll make you look more badass than you already do. It'll make you look like Snoop Dogg."

Both of them laughed until their sides hurt. "Okay" he said "only 'cuz you like it".

Carl sat for 30 minutes as Tamia cornrowed his hair. He had to admit it felt great when her fingers were in his hair. When she was done he was actually impressed. "You were right" he said, checking himself out in the mirror.

"I always am, get used to it" she said, kissing him on the cheek. As she went to move away, Carl held her shoulders and pulled her face to his, kissing her gently on the lips. She didn't move to break the kiss, so Carl slowly opened his mouth, and she did the same, allowing their tongues to swirl around each other as they kissed. Carl's hand gently snaked around Tamia's waist, pushing her closer.

Suddenly a knock on the door startled both of them. "What is it?" Tamia asked, annoyed. "Princess Tamia, there is a visitor from Alexandria asking to speak with Carl."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Michonne heard a loud crack as Negan burst through her locked door. The middle of the door splintered on contact, cutting up Negan's arm, but in his drunk stupor he didn't seem to notice.

Michonne dove in front of the closet door where Judith was, holding her knife at the ready. She could hear Judith crying on the inside.

"I told you to open the door" Negan said, advancing on her. Michonne swiped at him with the knife as a warning. "Get out of my room and sleep it off before you do something you regret" she warned.

Negan's "date" then placed herself in the doorway of the small room. "Get her Negan" she called "You should iron her ass after hitting you". Michonne stared at Negan, willing him not to come any closer. She would defend herself and she knew it wouldn't have a good ending for her or Judy. He moved forward to grab her arm and Michonne plunged her knife into his arm. He stumbled backwards, roaring in pain as the knife still stuck out. He fell on to the floor, moaning.

Suddenly the woman was running towards Michonne. Michonne quickly back handed her, knocking her into the wall. The woman turned and came at Michonne again, knocking her against the closet door. Michonne could hear Judith screaming "mommy" from the closet, and it made her fight that much harder. Michonne kicked the woman, sending her backwards, and Michonne then rammed her into the wall. Negan slowly was making his way to his feet, and Michonne realized she was outnumbered. She punched the woman, hoping to knock her out, but she just fell to the floor clutching her face.

Michonne quickly slid the closet door open, grabbing a hysterical Judith, and turned to run out the room, getting as far as the room door when Negan grabbed her. Michonne tried to twist out of his grip but he was too strong. Having no choice, Michonne dropped Judith who hit the floor with a plop. "Go to Aunt Carol!" Michonne yelled at her, as Negan pulled her back in the room.

Michonne could hear Judith scurry down the steps as fast as her two year old legs could take her, before she turned and punched Negan in the nose again. He roared in pain again and put her into an unbreakable bear hug, holding her arms down so she couldn't defend herself.

The woman then took the opportunity to punch Michonne in the face. "Who's the hoe now?" she screamed. "You still are" Michonne replied, kicking the woman with both legs, sending her flying across the room, and throwing an already unsteady Negan off balance and to the floor. She kicked Negan in the nose for a third time but he grabbed her foot, yanking her to the floor too. He quickly climbed on top of her, pinning her down on her stomach.

"You fucking broke my nose" he mumbled, his blood dripping on to the side of her face. She tried to wiggle out from under him, but he was too heavy. "You deserved it" she responded. He pushed down on her harder, making it more difficult to breathe. "Get...off...me..." she gasped. "Why won't you ever be fucking nice to me?" he slurred. "I'm nice to you. Gave you a fucking job. Took you and your baby in."

Michonne turned her head slightly and saw the woman starting to stand from where she landed across the room. She was scowling.

"Let me... go" Michonne managed to get out. "I can be a good man" Negan mumbled, pressing himself into her back. "I can take care of you and your baby. If you just let me."

Michonne tried to move but she was stuck to the floor under his weight. The woman began walking towards them. "Negan, are you gonna give her the iron? I can go ask them to warm it up."

Negan ignored her. "Just stay with me for one night. Just one, if you don't like me I won't ask you again. I know you haven't had a man since yours died. I know you have to be lonely..."

Michonne tensed up as she felt him harden on top of her.

"Get the fuck off of me" she gasped, bucking underneath him. Her words angered him and he grabbed both of her wrists. "Fine!" he yelled "Here's your choice, you can fuck me or you can fucking die!"

Before Michonne could fully think about what she was saying she screamed "I'd rather die!"

All three people in the room got quiet. Negan seemed a little shocked and slightly more sober suddenly. Although Michonne meant what she said, in that split second she wasn't thinking about Judy and the impact it would have on her. But it was too late to take it back now.

Negan suddenly moved to stand up, yanking Michonne up with him and pinning her arms behind her back. He leaned over to whisper in her ear "then you'll fucking die".

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carol was getting ready to go to sleep. Daryl had just lit the fire that would be keeping the two of them warm for the night. They both got into the sleeping bag that they shared, and Carol had just rested her head on Daryl's chest when she heard a tiny voice say "Aunt Carol!".

Carol sat up startled and was confused to see Judith running towards her. Daryl rolled out of the sleeping bag, looking around for Michonne. "Judith!" Carol said "What are you doing here? Where's your mommy?". Judith just pointed towards Negan's home.

Carol knew Michonne would never let Judith out of the house by herself unless something was horribly wrong. Carol and Daryl exchanged a look, Carol scooped Judith up quickly, and the two of them raced to the home.

As they got to the front porch Negan emerged, blood dripping from his nose and a knife still stuck in his arm, gripping Michonne by her arms. "What the fuck happened?" Daryl asked. Negan ignored them, marching Michonne somewhere. As Michonne spotted Carol, holding Judith, she yelled "please take care of her". Carol could tell Michonne had been in a fight, her cheek was swollen like she'd been hit. Daryl and Carol followed Negan and watched as he escorted Michonne to the town's jail.

"What is going on?" Carol asked Daryl. She looked down at Judy who was gripping her and shaking. The little girl still looked terrified. "Judy, what happened to mommy?" Carol asked.

"Negan is bad" she explained "Negan broke the door".

Carol looked at Daryl and then back to Judy. "What door honey?" she asked.

"The room. Mommy said go in the closet".

"Negan broke the door in your room?" Carol asked her. Judy nodded. "He's bad. He and the lady hurt mommy" she said, tears falling from her eyes.

"Shit" Daryl said, softly.

They stood in front of the jail unsure of what to do, but they knew Michonne was in big trouble. Based on the amount of blood coming from Negan, Michonne put up a hell of a fight, but who knows what he did to her. And there had to be some kind of punishment, seeing as though she fought back.

Their attention was drawn to the gates as they opened with an earsplitting screech, and a truck full of Saviors entered. The gates had long been replaced since the Saviors knocked them down with a school bus, but they were never the same again and they let out a loud high pitched sound whenever opened or closed.  
Daryl and Carol watched as a few Saviors, including Glenn, hopped out the back of the truck. One of them yelled "Where's Negan?". One of the guards on duty pointed towards the jail and then man took off running towards the jail building. Carol glanced over at Glenn and for the first time in a long time he actually looked back at her like he was trying to get her attention.

She stared for a little bit, and he signaled with his eyes to a spot behind one of the houses. She hesitated, but Glenn had already started to walk towards the house. Carol nudged Daryl with her arm and he followed her behind the house.

Glenn was waiting for them, looking around nervously. Carol immediately noticed Glenn's eye was red and swollen looking like he'd just been punched. Carol and Daryl just waited for him to speak. "We got attacked" Glenn said, "by the Kingdom. We were holding one of their knights and they came to get him." A small smile spread across Glenn's face, "but Carl was leading the people from the Kingdom".

The two of them just stared at Glenn stupidly. "What?" Daryl asked.

"Carl! He's alive. He's living in the Kingdom. He lead the attack against us." Glenn said.

"Carl?" Carol said confused, and then a switch seemed to click in her mind. "Carl?" she said excitedly.

Judy who was still in Carol's arms, listened in with interest.

"He's been living there the whole time" Glenn said.

Daryl rubbed his face trying to process what Glenn was saying. "How?" Carol asked. "Why... why is he there?"

"I didn't get to talk to him long, but the Kingdom attacked us, that's what that guy is going to tell Negan. It's going to be a war. I told Carl that I'd send someone to go talk to King Ezekiel and see if we can make an alliance against Negan. So we can fight back."

"How? how are you going to send someone to Ezekiel? Especially if the Kingdom attacked us, no one is going to be allowed to go there." Daryl said.

"I have my ways" Glenn replied, winking. "Where's Michonne? I've got to tell her. She's gonna flip."

"Negan just locked her up in the jail" Daryl said "something happened".

"What?" Glenn asked, stunned.

"We don't know, but it don't look good. Negan was all bloody with a knife sticking out his arm. I'm guessing he messed with the wrong woman." Daryl replied.

Just then, Negan re-emerged from the jail with the man who ran in to tell him about the Kingdom's attack. He still was bleeding profusely and he looked extremely drunk. The other man was helping him towards the infirmary.

"I gotta go" Glenn said. "I'll try to find out what's happening with Michonne. I just need someone we can trust to go to the Kingdom and negotiate."

"I'm in" Daryl said, "I'm going".

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was late, about midnight, when Glenn entered the house used as a jail. The guard there was playing solitaire using the light from a small lamp. "I'm your replacement" Glenn said confidently. The man just shrugged his shoulders, gathered up his cards, and walked out. Glenn quickly made his way down the steps leading to the cell. There were no lights down there, but Glenn could make out Michonne's still figure laying on the small cot in the moonlight let in by the one window.

Wondering if she was asleep, Glenn quietly called her.

She turned her head to face him, and he could now make out the whites of her eyes. She wasn't sleeping. He slowly walked up to the cell but she didn't move or answer.

"Are you ok?" he asked. From what he could see, which wasn't much, she didn't seem to be bleeding or have broken bones.

"No" she said quietly. "I haven't been for a long time."

Glenn was shocked by her response. He hadn't spoken to her in so long, and he realized he had no idea what she was going through, living in Negan's house with Judith. It must've been hell. Both of them had to sell their souls to survive.

"Can I ask what happened?" he said gently, knowing he had no right to ask.

"It doesn't matter" Michonne said, sounding defeated. "Nothing matters but Judy. I failed her..." Michonne's voice cracked with emotion. "And now I won't be there to protect her."

Glenn had no idea what she was talking about. "Of course you'll be there" he said.

"No. I won't." Michonne whispered. "Negan's gonna kill me tomorrow."


	12. Chapter 12

"He said he was going to kill you?" Glenn asked. "Yea" Michonne responded quietly. Glenn put his hand to his head in frustration. He knew Negan didn't make idle threats, even when he was drunk.

"We'll think of something to stop that. Don't worry. Look, Michonne there's something I have to tell you... it's about Carl..." Glenn didn't get to finish his sentence.

"What the fuck are you doin' down here dude? I have duty right now. Kyle said you told him it was your turn right now?" One of the Saviors interrupted.

"Uh yea, I asked to switch. No one told you?" Glenn said, quickly trying to cover.

"Nah dude no one told me anything. Look I want this shift, it's better than during the day, no one bothers you. You can do this shift tomorrow, I'm gonna stay here tonight" the guy said stubbornly.

"Yea ok, you can have it" Glenn said "just give me a minute".

The guy didn't move. "Why are you talking to her anyway? She's a prisoner".

"Look" Glenn said "I need to talk to her for a minute, then I'll go"

The man stayed where he was. "Whatever you gotta say to her you can say in front of me" the guy said suspiciously.

Glenn didn't want to raise any more red flags. He looked back at Michonne who was staring at him now. She had heard him mention Carl and he had her full attention.

"Forget it" Glenn said, turning around and giving Michonne an apologetic look as he walked back up the steps.

As Glenn left, Michonne started wracking her brain to figure out what Glenn could possibly have to say about Carl.

 _Did he find Carl's body out there? His bones? Did he find Carl as a walker?_

Her heart sank. That was it. He found Carl's walker body and he had to put it down. Although it had been a year, Carl's death was still not resolved in her mind. She had accepted she probably would never see him again, but she still held on to the remote hope that he was still alive somewhere, somehow. With Glenn's words, that small drop of hope evaporated.

She felt her eyes burning, as hot tears welled up in them, but the other guard was still there, and she was too stubborn to cry in front of him. She laid on her cot, turning her face towards the wall as she tried to suppress the tears quietly.

Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling overtook her. These people had taken Rick from her. Carl. Her dignity. Her home. Her family. And now they were going to take her life and her daughter. Michonne shook with uncontrollable rage. Rage for everything she had been through in the past year, everything she had had to put up with. The fear, the pain, the humiliation.

She couldn't control whether she died or not, but she could control what happened before she died. She decided to take out as many Saviors as she could before that happened. Negan would kill her tomorrow, but she'd take as many of them along for the ride as she could. She did fear for Judith's safety, but she knew Carol, and Daryl, and Abraham, and Rosita, and even Glenn and Maggie. They would protect Judith as much as they could. She knew they would die to protect her, just like she would.

Michonne laid on her cot and tried to think of a way to take out as many of them as possible. After plotting for a few hours, she fell into a restless sleep.

 _"Rick" Michonne whispered. He didn't answer her. She rolled over and faced him in the bed. He was sound asleep, his curly hair falling over his face, shrouding his eyes. Michonne thought he looked adorable. She reached out and gently moved a curl from his eye. She then slowly dragged her fingers down his face, waking him. He slowly opened his eyes._

 _"Hi baby" he said, his morning voice sounding extremely sexy._

 _"Rick. I don't have good news" Michonne started._

 _He reached out to her and pulled her closer to him, scooting a little further down in the bed so that they were eye to eye._

 _"I know what you're going to say" he said "but you will make it through this. You will make it past this. He doesn't have control over you. You have survived too much to die this way. You need to live for our children." Rick said._

 _Michonne focused on the last sentence. "Our children?" she repeated._

 _"Yes" he responded, stroking her cheek. "You know it's true, deep down. You know Carl's still alive. If you didn't, I wouldn't be saying this to you."_

 _Michonne paused, wondering if Rick could be right. "I... I think he is. Maybe that's what Glenn was going to tell me. Maybe... could he be?" she asked. But she knew that she was only asking herself._

 _Rick leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. "One day, you'll join me. And we'll be together forever. But it sure as hell won't be tomorrow. You're my Michonne, and you won't die like that. You won't die at his hands." Rick said confidently._

 _Michonne looked up at this man in wonder. "Thank you Rick" she said "Thank you for giving me strength. I love you"_

 _"I love you more and always" he replied_.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Glenn walked over to Carol and Daryl's little spot on the grass. Judith was fast asleep in their sleeping bag, and they had gathered all of their closest family members. The look on Glenn's face let them all know that there wasn't good news.

"Negan told her he's gonna kill her tomorrow" Glenn said. Rosita gasped, and Abraham shook his head. Glenn lowered his voice and began whispering. "We're not gonna let that happen. I don't know if Carol and Daryl have told you yet, but Carl is leading the people at Hilltop."

"And how in holy hell did that happen?" Abraham asked as quietly as was possible for him.

"I don't know, I didn't get to talk to him long, but he's ok. I'm sending Daryl there to negotiate an alliance. The Kingdom will help us fight Negan, they hate him too. But Daryl, you need to leave right now. We need the Kingdom to distract Negan enough for us to get the gates open and take out some of the Saviors. Hopefully _before_ Michonne is executed."

"I'll leave right now" Daryl said, "but how am I gonna get out of here?"

"Maggie once showed me a way out through the drainage pipes. Back when the herd had surrounded Alexandria, she had tried to leave that way to go look for me. I don't think anyone else knows about it but us and Aaron." Glenn whispered.

"But how'm I gonna get to the Kingdom and back by mornin'?" Daryl asked. "There's an abandoned car a mile down the road. I know it has some gas, I put it in there... just in case Maggie and I... in case we had to get out of here. Take that."

"Ok" Daryl nodded. "I'm takin' Judy with me, and I'll take lil' Hershel too if you want. Negan will use Judith against Michonne, and I won't have that."

Glenn nodded. "Thanks man" he said, shaking Daryl's hand.

"Does Michonne know about Carl?" Carol asked. "No, I didn't get to tell her, a guard walked in" Glenn said, looking down.

"Shit" Abraham offered.

"Someone has to tell her" Carol said "If it was my child..." She stopped because unpleasant memories of Sophia's death suddenly flowed through her head.

"Ok, I'll try again" Glenn said, "but for now, we need to get Daryl and the kids out of here. Daryl, meet me behind the church in 15 minutes. I need to go get Hershel."

"Ok" Daryl said, as Glenn tried to walk as inconspicuously as possible towards his home.

Carol turned towards the others "It looks suspicious that we're all gathered over here, everybody go back to your spots and try to get some rest. If the people from the Kingdom get here, we're gonna have a big fight on our hands."

Everyone reluctantly went back to their usual sleeping spots, and Carol was left alone with Daryl. He was looking at her like he wanted to say something, but she knew him too well, she knew he would never initiate anything. She reached out and grabbed both of his hands, and he gently squeezed hers.

"You come back to me safe" she said to him. He nodded slowly. She leaned forward, putting her face closer to his, but she stopped in the mid way point, waiting for him to move his face towards hers. She was giving him a choice. He could kiss her forehead, her cheek, her lips, or nothing at all.

She watched his eyes quickly scan the area to see if he was being watched. He then leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. She moved to suck on his top lip, and he opened his mouth to give her better access. The two of them kissed deeply, his good arm wrapping around her waist to pull her in.

Eventually he broke the kiss. "I... I gotta go" he stuttered. "I know" she replied "There's some more waiting for you when you get back" she said seductively.

He quickly turned red. "I... I want that" he said before he lost the nerve. He then gently scooped up a sleeping Judith with his good arm, and made his way toward the church.

A few minutes later, Glenn arrived with a sleeping Hershel strapped into a baby carrier. Glenn placed the straps on Daryl's back and snapped the snaps. "Ok, this way" Glenn said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carl quickly stuffed his beaten up sheriff's hat on his newly braided hair, grabbed Tamia's hand, and followed the guard to the school auditorium. Carl was extremely nervous, he didn't know who this messenger would be and he was scared to hear what they had to say. Tamia could feel Carl's clammy hands shaking and she squeezed them gently. "We're warriors" she said. He nodded.

When they reached the auditorium doors, Carl opened them confidently and walked in with his head high. He was startled to see a skinny Daryl standing next to Ezekiel, with a baby strapped to his back, holding a toddler's hand.

Daryl's mouth dropped open, which was the most emotion Carl had ever seen from him.

"Daryl?" Carl asked, although he knew it was him. Daryl opened his arms a little and Carl came to him and gave him a hug. Daryl quickly let go. "Damn, you got a mustache and everythin'" he said.

Carl laughed. He was aching to ask Daryl what happened to his shoulder which was hanging at a strange angle, but he figured that would be rude. Carl looked down at the two children Daryl was holding. The baby on Daryl's back had to be Glenn's son. He had Glenn's eye shape and jet black hair just like his dad. Carl then looked down at the little girl with brown hair and big brown eyes, who looked so sleepy she was about to lay down right then and there.

 _She looks familiar... She looks like... Judy? Judy?!_

"Is that Judy?!" Carl asked. Daryl nodded and a smile slid across his face. Carl kneeled down in front of the little girl who was looking at him suspiciously.

"Judy?" he asked, tears coming from his eyes.

"Yes" she said, looking Carl up and down.

"Judy, I'm Carl. I'm your brother."

She didn't say anything, she just stared at him.

"Can I have a hug?" he asked her. She nodded and he quickly wrapped his arms around her squeezing her tight. "Judy I've missed you so much" he said. She still kept quiet.

Carl stopped hugging her and held her at arms length to look at her again. He knew she had to keep growing in his absence, but he was still shocked to see her talking and walking on her own. He had always imagined her exactly how she was the last time he'd seen her.

Carl dragged his eyes away from Judy and back to Daryl.

"How's my mom?" Carl asked.

Daryl gestured to some chairs that were placed around the auditorium stage. "Maybe we should sit down."  
Although Carl didn't like the sound of that, he pulled out a chair for Tamia and then sat down himself, as did Daryl and Ezekiel.

"Yesterday, there was some kind of fight between her and Negan. He locked her up in the jail and he said he's gonna kill her tomorrow. Well, today now... that's why I came here so fast. We need a distraction to save her. If you and your... knights... show up to Alexandria, shooting at the guards on watch and causing a ruckus, it will distract the Saviors enough for us to start picking them off from the inside. And once we get the gates open, your people can attack 'em. It'll throw 'em off guard for sure."

Carl was still stuck on the beginning of Daryl's response.

"Negan is gonna kill her?" he yelled, bunching up his fists "what happened? what did he do to her?"

"Like I said, I don't know, but we can still save her if we get to Alexandria on time."

Ezekiel, seeing Carl was on the edge of exploding, put his hands up. "We will of course prepare to leave in a few hours, as soon as the sun comes up. We will attack the gates, and then your people will let us in. Tamia dear, please tell Sir Bruce to tell the knights to prepare to leave at dawn." Tamia looked at her father and then Carl, and then dutifully got up to do what he asked.

"We should leave now" Carl said.

"It would be unwise to travel in the dark, especially when we can be easily ambushed. We will get there and save your mom my boy." Ezekiel said. "In the meantime, you can get in a few hours of sleep, if you can manage. I have a room prepared for you Mr. Daryl, and your... children?" Ezekiel asked, confused as to why Daryl was traveling with two babies.

"They're not mine" Daryl said quickly. He turned to Carl. "Glenn thought it would be safer to get Judy and Hershel out of Alexandria, so they can't be used against us... against Michonne and Glenn especially. Is there someone here who can take care of them while we're gone?"

"Oh of course" Ezekiel said. "They'll be well cared for here. Would you like me to find somewhere for them to sleep tonight?"

"Judy can stay with me" Carl said "she can stay in my room, I have some things that I got for her a long time ago, and I want her to have it." Carl looked down at Judy. "Would that be ok? If you stayed with me for a little while?" he asked.

"You're Carl?" she asked quietly.

"Yes Judy, I'm your brother Carl" he said, kneeling in front of her again.

"Mommy said you loved me so much"

Carl burst into tears, surprising even himself. "Yes Judy, I love you so much. You're my little sister and I love you."

"Ok" she said, as if the matter were settled. She reached over and grabbed Carl's hand.

"I'll watch lil' Hershel for the night" Daryl said, "I don't think he's waking up"

"Excellent. At dawn we will meet on the field to leave." Ezekiel said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carl walked down the hallway holding Judy's hand. He still couldn't believe how big his little sister had gotten, and he snuck looks at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked like she was so sleepy she was barely holding it together, but surprisingly she didn't throw a tantrum or start crying.

He opened his room door and Judy walked in shyly. She looked around at his collection of knives, and sculptures that he'd carved out of wood in his spare time.

"You can sit there Judy" he said pointing to a chair in the corner. "I have a special present for you before you go to sleep". Judy climbed up into the chair with difficulty. Carl dug into the back of his closet, looking for the bag that he had the day his father was killed. He still had all of the supplies he'd picked up that day, he had taken them out of the bag dozens of times, and washed them, but he always neatly piled them back in.

Carl reached into the bag and pulled out the Disney princess sheets that he had picked out for Judy a year before. Judy's eyes lit up.

"These are for you Judy. For you to sleep on. Do you like them?" She nodded shyly.

"I'm going to put them on the bed and you can sleep on them. They're yours to keep, so even when I'm gone you have something that's yours, in case you're scared. Ok?" he asked. She nodded again.

Carl spread the sheet on his bed, and picked Judy up laying her on the sheet. He then took the other sheet and tucked her in, making sure she was nice and warm.

"You have to say it with me" she said.

"Say what Judy?" Carl asked

"What mommy always says"

"Ok, you teach me. What does mommy always say?"

"You had a daddy named Rick" she began

Carl looked at Judy in shock. She stared back, thinking he didn't understand what she was saying, so she slowed it down.

"You had a daddy named Rick" she said more slowly.

"You had a daddy named Rick" Carl repeated, his eyes tearing up.

"who loved you so much"

"who loved you... who loved you so much" Carl whispered.

"You _have_ a brother named Carl" Judy said, emphasizing the have.

"You have a brother named Carl" Carl repeated

"Who loves you so much"

"Who loves you _so_ very much" Carl said, adding his own word in there.

"And you have a mommy named Michonne"

"And you have a mommy named Michonne" Carl said, the tears finally dripping down his cheeks.

"Who loves you so much"

"Who loves you so much"

"Your name is Judy and you are loved"

"Your name is Judy and you are _so_ loved" Carl said again, kissing her on the forehead.

"Good night Judy"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Michonne woke up determined. She took in the soft light filtering through the window. Although it was still pretty dark in her cell, the sun was on its way up. She looked around her cell for anything she could use as a weapon, but there was nothing.

She looked at her bare cot. The only thing on it was the sheet that she slept on. She wondered if she could use that to strangle someone, as she heard heavy footsteps moving above her. They were making their way towards her cell. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to fight to the death as soon as her cell was opened.

Her heart dropped when she saw Negan's face. The bandages on his nose were still bloody, and the stab wound on his arm was wrapped up well but also bleeding. He looked pissed, and he was clutching his head, probably with a hangover.

He dropped into a chair just outside of her cell, as she stood, looking at him.

"You fucked me up pretty bad" he said, chuckling. "But I have to admit, I might've deserved it." He rubbed his head.

"Look, I might've been a little rash with the fuck me or fucking die thing... and I really don't want to kill you. But you can't get away with what you did. I can't have my people thinking its okay to break my nose. You know... to keep order and shit."

Michonne didn't say anything.

"Look, if you promise to behave yourself..." Negan started.

" _You_ need to behave yourself. I didn't do anything. You attacked _me_!" Michonne growled.

"If you behave yourself, I can downgrade your sentence to a public beating" Negan said.

Michonne couldn't believe her ears. There was no way in hell she would stand there and let people beat her.

"Fuck you" she said.

"Really?" he shot back "even if you can live and be there for your daughter?"

He used the only leverage he had against her. Judy. Getting a public beating would be humiliating and traumatic, but she'd survive, and she could live for Judy. She wasn't sure what to do.

Negan could see the war going on in her mind.

"I would get other women to do it, I'm not for men hitting women..."

"Thats real funny" Michonne interrupted.

"So do you accept?" he said.

"Why are you giving me this option?" Michonne asked. "I've never seen you change a sentence for someone before. Why do you care if I die or not?"

Negan was quiet for a moment. He rubbed the side of his head as if rubbing away his headache.

"I... you do a lot for me... I need breakfast and dinner every day don't I?" he asked lamely. Michonne could see right through him and he knew it. He looked up at her and froze when she stared directly into his eyes, reading him.

"Ok... I sorta fucking like you. Your fucking hot and you kick ass, something a man can appreciate. I was wrong to try to force myself on you, but I think with time maybe we can get together you know?"

Michonne tried to decide if she should tell him it would never happen, but she figured that wouldn't be smart. She decided to stall.

"I have to think about it" she said.

Negan laughed "You have to think about whether you'd like to die or not?"

"Yea" Michonne said, not cracking a smile.

"Ok, I'll give you an hour" Negan said. "Make the fucking right decision"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour later, Negan was back at Michonne's cell.

"What's your decision?" he asked.

"I'll take the beating" she said, "on two conditions".

He looked relieved and amused. "What?" he asked.

"My daughter cannot be there, and I get to get a punch in on that bitch you brought to my house"


	13. Chapter 13

Michonne could hear a crowd forming outside of her jail cell window. She knew that the community would be forced to come outside to watch her punishment. She paced around her cell nervously, her palms sweating.  
She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was scared. She had been in fights before, and she had taken her hits, but she had never been surrounded by a group of people who's intent was to hurt her and she wasn't allowed to fight back or defend herself.

She reached around to wipe her palms on the back of her jeans when she felt the tube of toothpaste that she always carried with her. Rick's toothpaste. She forgot it was even back there. She took it out of her pocket and smiled. She felt like Rick was sending her a message, that she could get through this. She could do this. She kissed the tube and stuffed it into her bra.

Moments later she heard heavy footsteps upstairs. As the footsteps moved downstairs towards her cell, her heart dropped when she saw Negan and two guards.

"Ready?" he asked, as if they were going to go for a stroll. She just glared at him.

"Look, before we go out there, you're gonna have to take the shirt and the pants off, so we can see if the beating is going too far" Negan said casually.

"What?!" Michonne roared "No!"

"You had your two conditions, I have mine. Look, I can't give you special treatment just because I like you. The rules are the rules."

Michonne just stared at him, not moving. She wanted to break his nose again.

"You can keep the underwear on. That's the deal, or I'll have to find Judy and give her a front row seat".

Michonne shook in anger and humiliation. She slowly turned her back to Negan and his men, and angrily stripped off her shirt throwing it on her cot, while stuffing the toothpaste tube further into her bra where it couldn't be seen. Her hands shaking, she fumbled with her belt buckle, taking a few tries before she finally unhooked it and unzipped her jeans, pulling them down and kicking them off.

She was terrified to discover she was actually about to cry. Her whole body shook with her effort to hold it in, but she couldn't stop the tears from pouring down her face. Even though her back was to him, Negan could see her shoulders shaking and her erratic breathing. "Wait for me upstairs" he said to his men. He waited for them to leave before he moved closer to her cell.

"I'm sorry ok? I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal for you. I figured you're a tough woman, you can handle being outside in your panties. These are the rules. It's for your safety... mostly. If you're getting too bruised up we'll stop it." Negan said, trying to justify his actions.

Michonne just felt sick being in the same room as him. She tried to quickly wipe the tears away, but to her dismay they kept coming. She had never been so humiliated, so low, so stripped of her power. She took several breaths to calm herself and she finally got her breathing under control.

When she was more in control of herself she turned around to face him. He took a quick intake of breath as he took in the front view of her in her bra and panties. Barely able to stand the idea of him looking at her, Michonne quickly muttered "Do what you came here to do".

"I have to tie your hands" Negan said.

"Then how will I get my one punch in?" Michonne asked bitterly.

"Ok fine" he said, "I won't tie your hands until you get your punch, but if you try anything, you know who'll suffer the most..."

She looked down. She loathed how he kept using Judy against her. If this monster ever thought he would have a chance with her he was delusional.

He unlocked the jail cell and gestured for her to come closer. She eyed the gun strapped to his hip and he immediately noticed.

"Uh uh uh honey. You don't want to start something you can't finish". He grabbed both of her arms and pinned them behind her back before leading her upstairs. The guards that were waiting upstairs oogled her in her underwear and her face started to burn with embarrassment. She knew all of this was part of her punishment, and her hatred for Negan burned hot.

As Negan pushed her outside, the bright sunlight made her squint. She heard the mumbles of dozens of people as she was lead into the middle of a circle. She heard a few snickers, cheers, and catcalls from the Saviors who obviously were enjoying the view.

Forcing her eyes up from the ground, she scanned the crowd looking for Carol or Daryl. She needed to know that Judy was safe. She caught Carol staring back at her, without Judy. Michonne let her eyes do the talking.

 _Is she safe?_

Carol nodded and mouthed "Don't worry".

Michonne let out a breath. Carol continued staring at Michonne to get her attention again. She slowly mouthed "Carl's alive".

Michonne froze, thinking she read Carol's lips wrong. That couldn't have been what she said right?

Michonne inadvertently said "what?" out loud, and Negan turned to look at her.

Michonne ignored him, trying to look at Carol again, but people were in the way and she lost her. Negan turned around to face the crowd and began to speak.

"This woman is being punished with a public beating for attacking me". He turned to the five women who had agreed to carry out the sentence.

"Ladies, you don't need to be gentle, just don't kill her. If she's unconscious you stop. Got it?" Michonne eyed the five women, one of which was Negan's "date" who was snickering softly and cracking her knuckles.  
"Oh, and watch the face" Negan added, "I like her pretty".

As Negan turned away he gave Michonne a nod. She knew it was her chance to get her revenge. Without warning, she pulled her arm back and punched the "date" in her face so hard she was immediately knocked out.

The crowd gasped and Negan chuckled a little. He signaled to his guards to tie Michonne's hands. They roughly tied her hands behind her back and the remaining four women looked at her nervously. A man dragged the unconscious woman out of the way.

"Ok, let the beating begin!" Negan said loudly, as if he were the announcer in a race.

The women surrounded Michonne. They didn't have weapons, but they looked vicious enough.

"You're gonna get it bitch, for punching Shirley" one whispered, and she roughly pushed Michonne into the woman across from her, who put her foot out to kick Michonne in the stomach.

All of a sudden all four women were on her, pushing her to the ground and punching and kicking her. Michonne tried to use her legs to block some of the blows but it was almost impossible, and without her hands being free she couldn't defend her upper body. The crowd got louder as the beating got worse.  
She kicked at the women to get them away from her, until one grabbed both of her legs to hold her still. Another of the women began pummeling her face.

"Hey!" Negan yelled. "I said not the face!"

The blows kept raining down on her shins, stomach, arms, shoulders, and chest. She could feel intense pain everywhere and it didn't seem like the women were stopping any time soon. She wondered if she should just go limp and pretend she passed out to make it stop.

Almost as in slow motion, her eyes slowly wandered over to where Carol was, but she was no longer there. She searched the crowd for Maggie, Glenn, Daryl, Abraham, Rosita, or Sasha, any one of her family members. She just wanted to see a familiar face, anyone who wasn't cheering this on or laughing, but she couldn't find them.

 _They left me. Even they couldn't stand to watch this. I'm alone._

Michonne rolled into the fetal position to protect her face, stomach and chest, and so she was now taking most of the blows on her back and the back of her legs. She closed her eyes and thought of the only thing she could focus on right now, Rick. She imagined his face in her mind. His blue eyes. The crinkle right next to his eyes when he smiled. The way he'd look at her as if she were magical. If she focused on Rick, she could block out everything else.

Suddenly, a kick to the back of her head snapped her out of her imaginings. She opened her eyes and she could see stars dancing in her view. She weakly turned to see who kicked her and the unconscious woman, Shirley, was now awake, aiming another kick towards her head.

"Hey!" Negan yelled "Stop! It's enough!" but the woman didn't care. The last thing Michonne saw was a boot coming towards her face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carol mouthed to Michonne "Carl's alive". She had to tell her, she had to let her know. She tried to tell her 'he's coming' but there were people in her way and Michonne wasn't looking at her anymore. She didn't know if Michonne could read lips or if she understood the message.

Negan was now talking to the women who he said were going to give Michonne a public beating. Carol was relieved that Michonne wasn't going to be killed, but she couldn't stand by and watch Michonne get beaten either.

She stepped backwards from the front of the crowd and whispered to Glenn "we have to do something now. I don't know where Carl is, but we have to stop this".

He nodded. "We need a distraction... um... maybe if we set a house on fire?"

Carol nodded, and they ran to the closest house. They lit a piece of plywood on fire, blowing it until the whole piece of wood was starting to become consumed. They then let the fire spread on to a couch on the front of the house.

They heard a loud gasp coming from the area where Michonne was. Carol didn't know what was happening, but their fire needed to move a little faster. She opened the door of the house which was unlocked, ripped the curtains from the windows, and used them to set a fire in the living room.

She could hear cheers and yelling from the area and she knew they had started hitting Michonne.

"Shit!" Carol cursed, "this house is taking too long to burn! Where's Abraham and Sasha?"

As if on cue, the two of them ran towards the burning house. "We got the armory door open" Abraham yelled, out of breath. "Maggie and Rosita are keeping guard in case someone realizes it. What the fuck is happening? Why are people cheering?"

"They're beating Michonne!" Carol yelled "We have to start without the Kingdom. We need to stop this". Abraham pulled out a gun that he was concealing. "I'm gonna go shoot Negan. That'll stop it real fast" he said, moving to walk towards the crowd.

"Wait!" said Glenn. "They'll just shoot you and then you'll be dead, and they'll keep hurting Michonne. We need to go back to the armory, get the weapons, and take them all out, together. We're wasting time. Lets go!"

They ran to the armory as quickly as they could, gathering AK-47s and machine guns. "Ok. Me, Carol, and Rosita are gonna go take out as many Saviors as we can around Michonne. Abraham, Sasha and Maggie, you guys take out the Saviors on the wall and open the gates. The gun shots are the signal for everyone else to carry out the plan. Got it?" Glenn asked. They all nodded and ran to carry out their mission.

When Glenn, Carol and Rosita got back to the circle of cheering people they were shocked by what they saw. Michonne was laying on the floor in her panties and bra in the fetal position with her hands tied behind her back, as four women brutally kicked and punched her. A fifth woman was walking over towards her.

Carol saw the woman kick Michonne in the head. As the woman pulled her foot back to kick her again, she heard Negan yell at her to stop. Carol lifted her gun and aimed. The woman kicked Michonne a second time and Michonne went limp. Carol shot the woman straight through her head.

The gunshot made people in the crowd jump. Taking advantage of the confusion, Glenn, Carol, and Rosita opened fire on the crowd, trying to avoid hitting Michonne. The women who were beating her scattered. They could hear gunshots coming from the wall as well, as Abraham, Sasha, and Maggie attacked those on wall duty.

"I'll get Negan, you get Michonne" Glenn roared as he ran off in search of Negan who had disappeared.  
The other Alexandrians quickly carried out the plan that Glenn had let them in on. They had expected the kingdom to be there when they attacked, and to make sure the Knights knew friend from foe they were told to make a line down their faces with makeup to prevent friendly fire.

The Alexandrians quickly drew lines on their faces like war paint, picked up whatever weapons they could find including shovels, bats, and kitchen knives, and attacked the Saviors.

Carol and Rosita sprinted over to Michonne who lay motionless on the ground. Rosita held her machine gun, covering Michonne and Carol, as Carol crouched down checking if Michonne was still breathing. She saw her chest move and could feel a pulse.

Carol put her arms under Michonne's shoulders and tried to drag her towards one of the homes, but she needed help. "Rosita, you're gonna have to put down the gun and help me" Carol said "We'll do this quickly and watch each other's backs". Rosita pushed her gun to the side and grabbed Michonne's feet. They ran as quickly as they could towards a house, hoping they didn't get shot.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Abraham, Sasha, and Maggie slowly crept up to the gates. The people on watch paid them no mind as they continued their conversations. Suddenly, they could hear gunfire coming from the gathering of people where Michonne was. That was their cue. All three of them took out their weapons and fired on the guards before they had time to react. Within seconds, all 7 guards were dead. Sasha and Maggie climbed the scaffolding around the gates to cover Abraham, as he quickly slid them open, creating a loud screeching sound.

They could hear a low rumble in the distance. Sasha prayed it was horse hooves. She and Maggie started picking off as many Saviors as they could from their perches. Suddenly Sasha remembered about putting the lines on their faces. "Abraham!" she yelled, "make your lines so you don't get shot!". He quickly pulled out a tube of lipstick and made a line going down his face. He then threw it to Maggie who did the same, and Maggie made a line on Sasha's face as Sasha stared through her rifle, covering both of them.

"Yea! Here comes the calvary!" Abraham yelled, as at least 60 riders on horseback thundered down the road towards Alexandria. It was an intimidating sight to see, and Abraham quickly got out the way, hiding under the scaffolding that Sasha and Maggie were on, and shooting two more Saviors that were running towards them to close the gates.

Many of the knights from the Kingdom had bows and arrows, and they were shooting them as they thundered through the gates. Abraham ducked down just in time to miss an arrow to the chest. As he stood back up, more than a little angry he had almost been killed, he saw a man in a sherrif's hat ride by. He couldn't really see the face, but he recognized the long hair that was now braided down his back. When the man turned, Abraham saw that he had one eye. "Mother dick, it's Carl!" Abraham yelled to Maggie and Sasha.

Sasha and Maggie spotted Carl but they didn't want to distract him by calling to him. They also could see Daryl riding next to him. Sasha could hear screaming and gunshots, and she could see people running around chasing each other with weapons. She hoped Carol, Rosita, and Glenn got to Michonne in time. And seeing the pissed off look on Carl's face, she hoped for Negan's sake, she was still alive.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carl stormed into Alexandria ready for a fight. He had pushed his horse, Judy, to run as fast as she could, and the rest of the knights were just struggling to catch up to him. He hopped off his horse and took in the scene around him. There were burned down houses that now had trees growing in them, there was a house that was currently on fire, and there were people running everywhere. He had specifically warned his knights not to shoot at anyone with markings on their faces, so it made it easy for him to spot the Saviors.  
He needed to find Michonne, but he didn't know where to look. His first thought was to go back home. To his house. Daryl had told him she still lived there with Judy... and Negan. Carl took off running towards his old home, pulling out his katana as he ran. Just as he reached the steps, Tamia caught up with him. "We have to be careful" she panted "we don't know what's in there".

Carl, with his katana drawn, and Tamia with her bow, slowly creeped into his old house. The lights were off and there was no sign that anyone was home. Carl immediately noticed the damage that was done to his home. The couch was full of stains and looked like someone's feet were all over it, the kitchen had smoke damage as if there had been a small fire, and all of his family's belongings were gone.

"Stay here" Carl said to Tamia, as he jogged upstairs as quietly as he could. He had to see the rest of the house. He pushed open the door to his room and noticed it was bare. He wondered where all of his belongings were, but he didn't have time to think about it. As he walked over to check his father and Michonne's room he noticed the door to Judy's room had a crack in the middle as if someone had rammed through it. He quickly opened the door and saw Judy's crib exactly how it had been a year ago, but the closet was open and Michonne's shirts were strewn on the floor.

 _What happened here? What did he do to Michonne?_

Carl was even more livid. He had to find her NOW.

He turned and headed back downstairs. "She's not here, it looks like Negan busted in the door to my sister's room. I have to find my mom. Maybe... maybe she'll be at the jail? We have to go there."

Tamia nodded and they headed back out the front door when Daryl ran up to them.

"Hey!" he called. "Sasha and Maggie said that Carol, Rosita, and Glenn went to save Michonne. The Saviors were beating her in the middle of town. So if we find them we find her".

"Ok, lets go" Carl said. As he glanced at Tamia he noticed she had a funny look on her face, but in his panic to find Michonne he ignored it.

The three of them dashed to the open grassy area in the middle of town. They could see lots of bodies there, as if they all had been mowed down by an automatic weapon.

"Ok, lets check the infirmary" Daryl said, "If Michonne's hurt they probably took her there".

"Daryl!" a voice could be heard calling him from the window of a nearby house. He looked up and saw Carol. Daryl dashed towards the house, Carl and Tamia close behind. Daryl banged on the locked door until Carol threw it open, and he picked her up, kissing her on the lips, not caring who saw. Carl would've registered this more if he weren't in a panic to find Michonne. "Is Michonne here?" Carl asked quickly, not truly registering that he was talking to Carol and she was shocked to see him. "Um... yea... yes... Carl?" Carol asked, shocked at how much Carl had grown and matured, but she realized he wasn't in the mood for hugs right now.

"Um... she's in the bedroom... but Carl..." Carl didn't let Carol finish. He quickly opened the bedroom door and saw a badly beaten Michonne, unconscious. Rosita was sitting next to the bed holding her hand with one hand and a gun with the other. As Carl barreled through the door, Rosita cocked the gun and pointed it at him.

"Who the hell are you?" she yelled and almost as quickly as she spoke she took in the sheriff's hat, and the one eye. "Carl?" she gasped, tears quickly coming to her eyes. She put her gun down, and Carl, ignoring Rosita, ran to Michonne's side.

"Mom!" Carl called, "Mommy... it's Carl. I'm here now. Wake up please." he said, gently moving her locs from her face. When she didn't answer, tears ran down Carl's face.

"Why... why is she unconscious?" Carl asked, his voice trembling.

"A woman kicked her in the head" Rosita said sadly. "She's been unconscious... since then".

Carl moved the sheet that was concealing her body down a little and was horrified by the number of bruises covering her chest and arms. He couldn't even see her back or her legs, but he knew more bruises were there. She had been beaten mercilessly.

Tamia who had been standing in the doorway of the room took a small step inside. She slowly walked towards Michonne's bed as if she were afraid to look. Carl, lost in his sadness and anger about the brutal beating of his mother was able to hold it together long enough to glance up at Tamia. Her eyes were wide and she looked at Michonne in wonder.

"I... I _know_ her!" Tamia gasped.


	14. Chapter 14

As soon as Negan saw Shirley get shot in the head, he knew they were under attack, and he knew he was a target. He crouched down to get out of the line of fire of the sniper. Shirley had kicked Michonne in the head, knocking her out, and Negan was concerned about Michonne, but not more than his own life. He quickly turned and ran towards the armory to gather more weapons.

As he ran he yelled to his men that they were under attack, and to find out where the shots were coming from. As Negan jogged to the armory, he noticed that young Asian guy who used to be an Alexandrian, following him. "Hey you!" he yelled, "come with me, I need you to give the automatics to the men at the gates". The asian guy nodded and jogged faster to stay right behind Negan.

As Negan entered the armory he noticed the door was unlocked and opened. "What the fuck!" he yelled in surprise, "someone broke in here!" He bent down to pick some of the weapons off the floor when he heard two loud bangs and felt something tear through both of his arms. He'd been shot. He fell on the floor in shock and turned to see the Asian guy leveling a gun at his head.

"You fucking piece of shit!" Glenn yelled. "You don't deserve to live! If you try anything, I will gladly end you".

Glenn reached down and unarmed Negan. Not that he could use a weapon with bullets in both of his arms. Negan, seeing that Glenn wasn't playing games, quietly sat and didn't resist.

"I didn't shoot you in the legs because I'm not gonna carry your dumb ass anywhere, so you'd better be able to walk" Glenn mumbled as he roughly yanked Negan to his feet. Negan moaned, but didn't say anything, as Glenn held his gun to Negan's head and marched towards the jail.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Maggie, Sasha, Daryl and Abraham held their own on the wall with help from some of the Kingdom's archers. They shot any Saviors that tried to escape through the open gates, and the ones that surrendered were gathered in the middle of town. As Maggie surveyed the area for any more Saviors who were trying to fight, she spotted Glenn holding a gun to the head of an obviously wounded Negan.

"Glenn's got him!" Maggie yelled to Sasha, Daryl, and Abraham. She quickly climbed down the scaffolding and raced after him, catching up to him as he entered the jail. She helped Glenn shove Negan into the cell, and then she noticed Michonne's clothes still strewn on the floor.

Maggie quickly snatched them up and said to Glenn "He should get the same treatment".

Maggie trained her gun on Negan as Glenn roughly snatched his shirt off, causing him to yelp in pain as it grazed both of his gunshot wounds. Glenn used his knife to quickly rip the legs of Negan's pants, and yanked them off of him as well, leaving him in his boxers. He then walked out of the cell slamming the door behind him and checking that it was locked.

Glenn signaled with his eyes for Maggie to go upstairs and he followed behind her. As soon as they were alone he quickly kissed her. "Are you ok?" He asked. "Yea" she said " I just spoke to Daryl he said Hershel and Judy are safe at the kingdom"

"Thank God" Glenn said "how's Michonne?"

He could tell by Maggie's face she don't know. "Ok, you go find out. I'll stay here and babysit Negan. Tell everyone he's in here".

Maggie gave Glenn a quick peck and sprinted off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I know her" Tamia said again.

"What? How?" Carl asked, confused.

"Ms. Michonne. In the camp, she and her family lived in the tent right next to mine. I would babysit Andre sometimes... he liked to play with my sister, Tanya. I think he had a crush on her."

Carl's eyes got big "you knew Andre?".

"Yea" Tamia said, then she paused "what do you mean knew... he... he's not here?"

Carl looked down and then back at Michonne's face.

"Oh" Tamia said sympathetically. "What about Mr. Mike and Mr. Terry?"

Carl just shook his head.

Tamia sat on the side of Michonne's bed opposite Carl. "She was always so nice to me. When she came back from runs she would share cookies and chocolate with me and my sisters. Everybody admired her and what she could do with her sword. Maybe that's why..." Tamia stopped herself, unsure if she should speak.

"What?" Carl asked.

"I don't want to speak ill of the dead" Tamia said.

"It's ok, just say it" Carl prodded.

"The two men she was with, they were jerks. I know Mr. Mike was Andre's father, but both of them were jealous of her. They got annoyed whenever someone would compliment her, and I would hear them arguing, telling her to stop going outside the camp, to stop risking her life for other people. They never went out on runs, they just let her do all the work and complained about it later. I know she loved Mr. Mike but..." Tamia trailed off.

"The real reason she would let me babysit Andre is they would smoke weed when she wasn't there. When she went off on runs. She didn't want them smoking around Andre but they did it anyway. So she'd leave him with me."

Carl's mouth dropped open. "Mike would smoke weed around his son?" Carl asked in disbelief.

"Yea. I told you they were jerks."

Carl was shocked. He didn't know much of the details of Michonne's life, but he was sorry she had to deal with those kind of men.

"How did she become your mom?" Tamia asked.

Carl quietly stroked Michonne's hand. "It happened really slowly. She came to a prison that we lived in. She was hurt, someone had shot her. She didn't talk a lot and we didn't trust her. Especially my dad. He was kind of mean to her, and I was too." Carl swallowed as a lump formed in his throat.

"But we went on this run, just the three of us, and she helped me. She saved me, actually. I was stupid and I was going to run into a restaurant full of walkers to get a picture of my real mom. She wouldn't let me go, but she got it for me. And I realized that she was a nice person. I saw the real her. And I told my dad. And after that... things between all of us just got better". Carl smiled and rubbed Michonne's knuckles.

"Our prison got destroyed by this madman, kind of just like Negan. And the three of us got out together. And we just grew closer and closer. Like family. And I realized... I realized she and my dad were in love, but they didn't even know it."

Carl looked at Tamia again. "But once they realized they were in love, she just officially became my mom. Even though she had already been for a long time".

Carl held on to one of Michonne's hands and Tamia grabbed the other, and the two of them sat, lost in their own thoughts for a while. Carl broke the silence.

"Tamia" he called. Tamia looked up towards him. "You, Michonne, and Judy are the best things in my life. I just wanted to let you know. Just in case. I wasted a year away from my mom and my sister, I wasted a year of not knowing them, because I was afraid. But I don't regret it, because I found you. And I could never regret that."

Tamia smiled, and Carl made his way over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug, pressing her body against his. "I'm so glad you found me" she whispered into his ear. They hugged until they heard a knock on the door. It slowly opened.

Carol walked in cautiously. "Hi Carl" she said. "Hi Carol" Carl said, walking over to her, "I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner" and he bent down to give her a hug. Carol was shocked that he now had to bend down to hug her, and his voice was so deep, and he had facial hair! She was amazed at how much he had grown.  
"Carl" Carol said, with tears in her eyes "where were you? we went out and looked for you, Michonne did, and we couldn't find you. We thought you were dead. You were just gone".

Tears came to Carl's eyes "I know. I'm so sorry. It was wrong of me not to come back. Not to try... I just... I couldn't..." he sighed. "I know everyone wants to know what happened, and I'll tell you all, when my mom wakes up. She deserves to hear it first. Ok?" he asked.

Carol nodded "ok". "Rosita and I are gonna..." but her sentence was cut off by the front door slamming. They both heard Maggie's voice calling "Glenn caught Negan, he's being held in the jail!" Everyone left to go to the living room to hear what Maggie had to say. "He caught him, shot him in both arms so he can't try anything. He's locked up tight, don't worry". Maggie's eyes moved and spotted Carl.

"Oh Carl!" she cried, hugging him. "Oh my God, you're practically a grown man" she said. She looked at Tamia "And who is this?". Carl grabbed Tamia's hand "this is my girlfriend, Tamia". Tamia smiled shyly, but she was secretly proud that Carl had claimed her in front of all of his family. "Welcome Tamia" Maggie said. "Well, I just wanted to let you know that he's caught so you don't have to worry. I know you want to spend some time with Michonne. I just want to pop in real quick and see how she is and then..." Maggie stopped talking when she looked at Carl's face.

"What is it?" she asked, suddenly terrified.

"She's unconscious" Carl said. "She's not responding to anything"

"I... I'm sorry" Maggie stuttered. "I'm so sorry" she whispered again. "Can I see her?" Carl nodded and Maggie entered the room. When she saw the bruises on Michonne's body, tears burst from her eyes. "Oh my God. We waited too long, we weren't fast enough makin' a distraction..." She bent over Michonne and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Wake up Michonne, ok?" she said. Then, sobbing, she quickly turned and left the room.

"Rosita and I are gonna go help the riders from the Kingdom, they're watching the Saviors who surrendered" Carol announced.

"Yea, I will too" Tamia said, "my father will be wondering where I am".

"Your father?" Carol asked, confused.

"Yes, King Ezekiel is my father" Tamia said.

"So... you're like a princess?" Rosita asked.

"Yes, my people call me Princess Tamia"

Rosita looked at Carl "Wow, you know how to bring home the gold don't you!" she teased, making Carl smile briefly. Tamia chuckled a little.

"See you soon" she whispered to Carl, and quickly kissed him on the lips. She, Carol, and Rosita then left the room.

Carl's eyes moved to Michonne's face again, the only part of her that wasn't bruised and injured. He put his hands on her hair, gently stroking her locs.

"Mommy" he began, tears immediately pouring down his face with the word. "I'm so sorry I left you here by yourself. I made you think I was dead, I know you looked for me, I know you already lost a son, I know I hurt you. I'm so so sorry. It's all my fault, all of it. I left you to take care of Judy all by yourself, and I left Judy too, but I'm here now. I'm right here. Just open your eyes mommy and look at me. Please? If you come back I'll make sure no one ever hurts you again. I'll make sure Negan pays for what he did to you. I need you. Judy needs you. You're not alone anymore."

Carl stared at Michonne, willing her to open an eye, move a finger, twitch a toe, but there was nothing. He sat in the chair next to her bed, resting his head directly next to her hand. He laid there for a few minutes until he drifted off to sleep, so he didn't feel one of her fingers gently caress his hair.


	15. Chapter 15

Glenn stood in front of Negan's cage, staring at him. Negan sat on the cot, panting hard, he looked like he was on the verge of fainting. Glenn had shot him in both arms, but no one had given him any kind of medical treatment, so he was bleeding all over the place.

 _He's gonna bleed to death. No, that's too easy for him. I need to keep him alive until we can kill him._

"Don't pass out" Glenn yelled to him, annoyed. "Hey! Keep your eyes open!".

Negan glanced at Glenn weakly. "Just let me die already. You won. Fucking congratulations."

"No, you don't get off that easy" Glenn said "You're gonna pay for everything you've done over the last year. I think you should get pay back for starving and beating Michonne, ironing Daryl, having us sleep outside in the cold... you aren't gonna die from those gunshot wounds. I won't let you."

Glenn marched back upstairs as Maggie made her way through the jail door. She was crying. "What is it?" Glenn asked. "Michonne got kicked in the head, she's unconscious... Carl's with her now". Glenn felt so much guilt. As angry as he was at Negan, he was partly to blame as well. He had willingly become a Savior, even if it was to protect his family. He had done things, and watched things being done, that he hadn't stopped. And his family had paid the price.

Maggie seemed to read Glenn's mind. "Stop it. It's not your fault" she said. "It's Negan's. He came here, he made us live like this."  
He nodded his head, feeling slightly relieved. "We need to stitch up those wounds on his arms or he'll bleed to death. Get Doctor Denise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There were about 20 Saviors left that hadn't been killed. They were all gathered on the lawn, surrounded by Alexandrians and Kingdomites. The remaining dead Saviors were littering Alexandria, with arrows sticking out of their bodies. King Ezekiel was directing his men to go and make sure each Savior had a head shot, so they wouldn't have an army of walkers wandering the streets in a few hours. Doctor Denise was trying to tend to the wounded, stopping the bleeding, and stitching open wounds.

Tamia walked over to her father. "Ahh there you are Tamia, I was worried. Where's Carl?"

"He's with his mother. She's hurt... she's unconscious". Ezekiel took in the sad look on Tamia's face.

"Will she survive?" he whispered.

"I don't know. I hope so. Father... I know her. She's from the same camp I was from. She lived next to me. She's a nice woman, a brave woman. She was actually my inspiration to keep going when I was alone. I thought about how she always kept fighting, how she was so brave. I wanted to be like her."

Ezekiel stared at Tamia for a moment. "She sounds like quite a woman"

"She is" Tamia responded.

"I must go meet her. A woman who Carl calls his mother, and my princess admires. I would like to see such a woman."

Tamia nodded. "Lets finish up here first. What are we doing with these Saviors?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I'm going to hold a council meeting with the knights and the Alexandrians. But many are itching to execute them now,

and I'm afraid I feel the same way." Ezekiel looked over at Tamia. "How do you feel daughter?"

She turned to look at the 20 Saviors who were sitting on the ground hopelessly.

"I think they should die" she said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _Once again, Michonne woke up in her bed laying next to Rick. "There you are" he said. "I've been waiting for you"._

 _"You have?" she asked._

 _"Yea" he said, seductively licking his lips._

 _"Am I... am I dead?" she asked, looking around._

 _"No baby, you're not dead. But you do have a choice"_

 _"About what?"_

 _"You're unconscious right now. You can stay right here with me, and be here forever. Or, you can go back and be with Carl and Judy, and live."_

 _"I could stay here? If I wanted to?" she asked_

 _"Yes" he said._

 _"But I would be in a coma?"_

 _"Yes" he said again._

 _She sat up quickly. She looked around at the bedroom, exactly the way she remembered it when Rick was still alive, before Negan ruined their life, when she could lay in bed next to the man she loved and know she was safe. She put her hand to her head and rubbed her eyes._

 _"I'm... so tired. I'm so tired of that life. It's hard. It's brutal... but Judy, and Carl... now that I know both of them are alive... I can't stay."_

 _Rick grinned, rolling over on top of her and kissing Michonne gently on her neck, then her cheek, then her mouth._

 _When he finally stopped kissing her he whispered "that's my girl. I'm so proud of you."_

 _"But you'll still be with me right? When I sleep?" she asked._

Michonne suddenly felt pain everywhere. She was laying on something, a bed, her eyes were closed, but all she could feel was pain. She couldn't move her arms and legs, they felt heavy and weighed down, she couldn't open her eyes. She could just feel. Pain. And then she realized by her fingers she could feel something else, soft, it felt like hair. She tried opening her eyes again, to see what it was but she couldn't. But she realized she could move a finger, just one. She reached out with her finger and felt the hairy thing, and realized it was a head. Someone's head was laying next to her. Her mind ran through who would be sleeping next to her, it didn't feel like Judy's hair... and suddenly she remembered what Carol had mouthed to her. "Carl's alive". Could it be Carl? She reached out with her finger and gently stroked the hair. Carl. Her Carl.

 _Suddenly she was back with Rick. "What happened?" she asked, confused._

 _"You're going in and out of consciousness" Rick explained "Your body is trying to wake up"_

 _"You didn't answer my question before. Will you be with me when I sleep?" she asked._

 _He laid more of his body on top of her, pushing her down into the bed, and staring into her eyes._

 _"No" he said._

 _"What? why?" she asked, tears coming to her eyes._

 _"I told you I'd be with you as long as you needed me. You don't need me anymore."_

 _"I do!" she yelled, tears pouring down her face. "Please, I do need you Rick. Don't leave me again."_

 _"Michonne. I love you. But you don't need me anymore. I love you, so I want you to move on. I don't want you to keep holding on to me. I want you to live for you now. I'm dead. I'm gone. You're alive."_

 _Michonne stared up into Rick's blue eyes. She understood. He was right. And she knew since this was in her own mind, she had been thinking this for a while now._

 _"Good bye Rick" she whispered, stroking his hair for the last time. "I'll always love you"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Carl had nodded off with his head laying next to Michonne's hand. He hadn't been sleeping long because his neck didn't even hurt from the awkward position he was in. As he sat up he realized one of her fingers had moved and was resting in his hair. He knew it wasn't there when he put his head down.

"Mom?" he asked, hope starting to grow in his chest. "Mom can you hear me? If you can hear me, move a finger." He stared at her fingers looking for anything, but she didn't move. "Mom I know you were there. I know you moved. Come back." Nothing.

Carl started to get angry. "Come on Michonne. No more bullshit! You can do this. Wake up!" he screamed.  
Her eyes began to twitch, and he could see her eyeballs moving left to right.

"Mom! mom!" he said softly. "C'mon open your eyes".

The twitching in her eyes increased. She was waking up. He could see her face twitching now, it was slowly moving from peaceful to frowning and he knew she was starting to feel the pain. He tried to ease her into waking up gently.

"Mom, it's Carl, it's ok. I know it hurts, but you're gonna be ok. Just open your eyes ok? Look at me"  
Her eyes fluttered like she was trying to open them.

"There you go!" Carl said, laughing in relief "there you go, do that again".

She slowly opened one of her eyes. She stared ahead for a moment, and then her eye drifted over to a blue eye. She looked confused.

"Rick?" she asked, in a harsh whisper.

Carl smiled, and with tears pouring down his face he kissed her on the cheek. "No mommy, it's Carl".  
She slowly opened the other eye to get a better look. She took in the Sheriff's hat and his one eye. He had the beginnings of facial hair and his usually unkempt hair was braided back. He was older, and he looked like he'd been through a lot, but it was Carl. Finally, he was back. Tears began to explode from her face. Within seconds she was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Carl?" she asked through the sobs.

He moved closer to her. He wanted to hug her so badly, but he knew it would hurt her with all her bruises, so he picked up her hand and kissed it. "Yes mommy, it's me" Carl sobbed "I've missed you so much. I was so worried. You're ok, you're safe, and I'm home now".

Michonne couldn't speak because of all of the emotions she was feeling, but she reached out her hand to touch Carl's face, running her fingers down the side. Carl grabbed her hand holding it there, and then kissing it again.

"Judy's safe. She's at the Kingdom. She... she taught me her bed time ritual" he said smiling. Michonne smiled too.

"And we locked up Negan, he won't be hurting anyone. We're gonna kill him for what he's done, but I wanted to wait until you were awake. You deserve a say in what happens."

All of this information was making Michonne's head spin. She still didn't understand how Judy got to the Kingdom, how Negan was captured, how Carl was here, and where he'd been all this time. Her face must've shown her confusion because Carl slowed down.

"I'm sorry. I'll explain everything to you. I'm just gonna go yell for Denise so she can check you out ok?" he asked.

Michonne nodded, but realized moving her head made the room spin. She managed to give a hoarse "yes"

"I'll be right back" Carl said "don't go to sleep".

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Doctor Denise was outside trying to triage the wounded. There were a lot of minor wounds like cuts, scrapes and grazes by bullets and arrows, and then there were severe ones. She had treated the most severe ones that required stitches and was moving on to the minor ones when Maggie jogged up to her.

"Hey Denise, we need you at the prison. Negan has two gunshot wounds in the arm that needs to be stitched before he bleeds to death".

Denise looked at Maggie in surprise. "Negan? I would've thought you'd let him bleed to death".  
"Well yea, but we don't want him to die like this. Not before we've had a chance to decide on... things"  
Denise nodded. "Ok, I'll be there in a..."

Carl was suddenly calling her from a house across the street. "Doctor Denise, come quick, Michonne woke up, can you have a look at her?"

Denise did a double take. "Carl? Carl's here? How... Why didn't anyone... He was..." she didn't finish her sentence.

"He's alive, yea, we'll explain... but Negan is bleeding out as we speak" Maggie said.

"Ok" Denise said to Maggie, "Negan is the more critical case". She yelled to Carl, "make sure she doesn't go back to sleep or get up. I'll be there as soon as I can" and Denise took off after Maggie.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Carl sat with Michonne, trying to keep her awake and not focused on her pain until Denise got there, he noticed her staring at him. She must've seen the question on his face because she gave a weak smile.

"You've grown so much" she rasped "You look so much like him".

Carl knew she was talking about Rick. Seeing Michonne talk about Rick brought back painful memories for Carl. He didn't know how much she knew about what happened, but he decided he was tired of hiding his past. It was time to talk to her.

"Do you know what happened to my dad?" Carl asked softly.

Michonne's eyes suddenly looked down. Carl could tell she was reliving something. "The Saviors killed him" she said.

"The Saviors?" Carl asked confused.

"They tried to get inside the gates, in the beginning. They brought Rick's body and dumped him in front of the gates to make us open them. That's how I found out he was dead. Later, Negan told me he had been watching Alexandria for a long time, ever since we first attacked that compound. They had surveillance on us." Michonne said sadly.

Carl's eyes grew wide. He had no idea the men he and his father encountered were Saviors. He was too far away to hear the conversation between Rick and the men. He had assumed they took Rick's body as some kind of trophy, or they dumped him somewhere. He didn't know Michonne even knew what happened to Rick. And when he heard her say they were being watched and followed for a while, tears came to his eyes. All this time he thought his gunshot was what drew their attention.

"They were Saviors?" Carl said. "It wasn't my fault?"

Michonne looked at Carl's heartbroken face. She tried to sit up but the pain from the welts on her back made her lay back down. "Nothing was your fault Carl. Why would you think that?" she asked. "What happened with you and your dad that day? How did you get away?"

Carl's mind was going a mile a minute. He was having flashbacks of that day, and he suddenly was miles away. Michonne reached for his hand and he came back to the present. He sighed.

"Dad and I were clearing houses, looking for supplies. He was downstairs and he found some toothpaste for you", the memory of his father's joy made Carl smile.

"Wait" Michonne said. With great effort and pain she reached into her bra and pulled out the toothpaste she had stashed away "I still keep it".

Carl laughed. "In your bra?"

Michonne smiled, "Not always, but Negan didn't leave me much of a choice..." her smile suddenly faded. She quickly changed the subject "go on".

"I was upstairs and I got surprised by a walker and I shot it. As we were leaving that house a van pulled up, and dad pushed me behind some bushes, but they spotted him. All I could see was them talking, and then they shot him in the head". Carl could feel the tears coming so he quickly took a breath to suppress them.  
"They dragged him into a van and sped off. I didn't know who they were or what they wanted. I thought all this time that my gunshot drew them to us. I thought..." Carl stopped talking as his hands started to tremble.

Michonne pulled Carl towards her to hug him, but he pulled away. "I don't want to hurt you".

"It's ok" Michonne said, pulling him again "It's ok".

He moved closer and wrapped his arms around Michonne's neck, sobbing into her shoulder. She could endure any kind of pain to give Carl what he needed, and in that moment he needed a hug from his mom.  
"It was never your fault Carl. It would've happened whether you were there or not. Don't hold on to that any more. Your dad would want you to live now, just like he wants me to." She held him until his shoulders stopped shaking and his breathing returned to normal.

"I'm sorry for making you worry all this time, and making you think I was dead. I'm sorry you had to deal with Negan by yourself, with Judy. But you've raised her so well. She's so smart, and funny... I know you've been through so much, and you're still alive and strong, and... I love you mom".  
Michonne rubbed Carl's hand. "I love you too Carl. And I'm sorry for the burden you had to bear. It's not your burden. But I'm just so thankful to have you back now".

They looked at each other smiling.

"Mom. I have a girlfriend." Michonne's smile got bigger.

"Oh really? What's her name?" Michonne asked.

"Tamia"

Michonne looked a little funny, like she was trying to place where she knew that name.

"It's the same Tamia that you knew from the camp you lived in"

Michonne's eyes got big. "You know Tamia?"

"She's my girlfriend"

"How?" Michonne asked "How'd she get to Washington? Are her sisters here too? Her mom?"

"I'll let her tell you the story herself" Carl said, smiling that Michonne seemed excited.  
Michonne just nodded. She remembered Tamia, she was a sweet girl, and if Carl had feelings for her, Michonne was ok with that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dr. Denise showed up about a half hour later. She looked exhausted.

"I'm glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?" she asked Michonne.

"Like I got hit by a truck" she said.

"Yea, I can imagine" Denise said. She reached over to check Michonne's pulse in her neck and pressed on a bruise, causing Michonne to wince.

"Sorry" she mumbled.

"Are you dizzy? have a headache?" Denise asked.

"Yea" Michonne mumbled, "both".

Denise moved to examine Michonne's head, where she got kicked twice. "Yea it's pretty swollen back here she said. I think you have a severe concussion, with brain swelling, that would explain why you were unconscious for so long. You definitely need to stay in bed for a few days. Bed rest. Unfortunately, we don't have any pain medicine, the Saviors cleaned us out, so you're not going to want to go anywhere for a while, anyway." Michonne just nodded.

"Can I see the rest of the bruises?" Denise asked. Michonne went to move the sheet down and then looked at Carl.

"It's ok, I can handle it" Carl said, "let me help". He got up, helping Michonne pull the sheet down. He was shocked by the sheer number of black and blue marks on her legs and belly. He helped Michonne turn over so Denise could see the ones on her back and the back of her legs. Michonne was biting her lip, and Carl knew she was in pain, resting on her side. Denise did a quick survey of the bruises, looking to see if any were in danger of getting infected or bleeding.

"Ok, you can turn her back over" Denise said. As Michonne landed on her back again she let out a gasp.  
"I'm really sorry about what you went through Michonne" Denise said "The bruises are going to hurt for a while, but they'll eventually heal. I'll come and check in on you every few hours to monitor your concussion. If you start getting any new symptoms, like ringing in your ears or loss of feeling, let me know immediately". Michonne nodded her head but that made her dizzy, so she just mumbled "Ok".

"Did you stitch up Negan?" Carl asked. "Yea. Like I said, there's no pain killers, he had to be held down so I could finish". "Good" Carl growled bitterly.

"What's going on outside?" Michonne asked "What's going on with the Saviors?"

"I think King Ezekiel is going to throw a meeting to discuss what should be done with them" Denise said.

"I need to be there" Michonne said "I need to"

"Mom, she just said you're on bed rest" Carl said chidingly.

"Ask Ezekiel to have the meeting here" Michonne said, determined.

Carl, realizing that Michonne wasn't going to give up, finally agreed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasha and Maggie helped Michonne get dressed, seeing as though she still only had underwear on under the sheets. Getting the clothes on was excrutiating for her, but she was too stubborn to stop.

Tamia and Ezekiel were the first ones to show up to the meeting. Carl had told Tamia that Michonne was awake, and she shyly entered the room, unsure of what to expect. When she saw the smile on Michonne's face she immediately felt at ease. "Tamia!" Michonne said. "Ms. Michonne!" Tamia said happily. She would've given her a hug but she immediately noted the bruises going up Michonne's arm and decided to hold her hand instead.

"How are you? Carl and I were so worried."

"I'll survive" Michonne said.

"Oh my gosh, look how grown you are. I remember you as a little girl. The last time I saw you you were what, twelve?" Michonne asked

"Yea" Tamia said, smiling "and your locs were a lot shorter then".

Tamia realized that she didn't introduce her father. "Oh, I'm being rude, this is my father, King Ezekiel, ruler of the Kingdom" Tamia said, politely moving out of the way.

Michonne quickly glanced at Carl in surprise. He didn't tell her the relationship between Tamia and Ezekiel. Carl smirked and shrugged his shoulders, and Michonne gave him a look that said

 _We'll talk about this later._

"Ms. Michonne" Ezekiel said "It is my pleasure to meet you. My daughter Princess Tamia has spoken so highly of your kindness, bravery and skill with the katana. It is an honor." Ezekiel held out his hand, palm up, towards Michonne. "May I?" he asked.

Michonne looked Ezekiel up and down. "May you what?" she asked.  
"May I kiss your hand?" Ezekiel said.

"No!" Michonne said harshly. She then recovered and said "No, thank you"

Carl snickered softly, and Tamia looked embarrased.

"As you wish" Ezekiel said. An awkward silence hung over the room.

Michonne broke it by saying "Tamia, are your sisters here too?", but Tamia didn't get to answer because more people started filing into the room. Carl had placed chairs along the walls, and luckily this room was a master suite so there was plenty of space for everyone. In total there were 20 people in the room including Carol, Sasha, Abraham, Glenn and Maggie, and many of Ezekiel's knights.

Ezekiel started off the meeting very formally.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are here to vote on what we will do with the Saviors that have surrendered to us. Everyone has an equal vote here, so you need only raise your hand. If you vote for the execution of the prisoners, raise your hand"

Every hand in the room was raised.


	16. Chapter 16

"So it is decided, we will execute the remaining Saviors" Ezekiel said nonchalantly.

"Now, as for Negan, I would like to give my suggestion as to how we will handle him, and then anyone else is welcome to give theirs. I believe he should have a public execution, something demeaning and painful, for what he has done not only to the Alexandrians, but also the Kingdomites and those who live at Hilltop. I will now open the floor for any other suggestions."

Carl immediately spoke. "I agree. He should be flogged and then hanged for what he did to my people, but especially my mom. And I personally volunteer to carry the sentence out."

Michonne's head snapped to look at Carl, but she moved a little too quickly, causing her to feel woozy. She put her hand to her head for a moment until the feeling went away, and Carl was looking at her with concern. "I'm ok" she whispered.

One of the knights spoke. "I second what Carl says, I believe a public flogging and a hanging would be a suitable punishment for Negan."

Daryl spoke up. "He should get the iron too. Damn bastard should get the iron right on his face. I'll carry that out."

There were sounds of agreement and head nods from everywhere in the room.

"He should know what it feels like to be starving, that's exactly what he did to Michonne, and to sleep on the ground" Carol said. "You should make him sleep outside for the remainder of his life, even if it's not that long."

Carl looked over to Michonne, who was silent and looked thoughtful. She had asked for the meeting to be brought to her, so she could be there, but she wasn't saying anything. He scooted over from the chair he was sitting on, and sat on the side of her bed. As more people gave their suggestions he whispered "Did you want to add anything?"

"Yea" she said.

"My mom wants to speak" Carl said loudly, and the whole room quieted down.

"He tried to take away everything from me" Michonne said, her voice dripping with emotion. "Everything that was important to me. He _did_ take away the love of my life and I mourned him every day..." Carl rested his hand on hers, and she took a deep breath and continued. "His execution should take days. He should watch his men die, he shouldn't be given food and be tied to a tree for a day or two, he should be ironed in the face, he should be publicly flogged, and then he should be hanged. That way everyone he's hurt will be satisfied, and _then_ we can move on."

The room was silent. Michonne had put all of their ideas together into a plan that no one argued against.

"I believe Ms. Michonne has put together an acceptable plan, and I second it." Ezekiel said, glancing at Michonne admirably. He then turned to everyone else. "If you agree to that plan, raise your hand now."

Everyone's hands went up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After the meeting, Ezekiel and Tamia stayed to talk to Carl and Michonne as everyone else filed out. They were all seated in chairs around Michonne's bed.

"Carl, how did you end up at the Kingdom?" Michonne asked, curious to hear about the life he'd been living for the past year.

"After dad got shot, I was in a daze. I just walked, I wandered really, I didn't know where I was going. I was walking down a road and I just ran into two knights from the Kingdom who picked me up and brought me back there. And that was where I stayed" Carl explained.

"Carl quickly showed he was an excellent shot, a great survivalist, and a great hunter. And once he found his katana, he showed much skill with that weapon as well. Tamia told me that you are also skilled with the katana, I'm sure Carl got much of his aptitude for sword work from watching you." Ezekiel chimed in.

Michonne looked at Carl, amused. "You use a katana?" she said, smiling. She hadn't noticed it on his back with everything going on. "Yea, just like my mom" he said.

Michonne turned back to Ezekiel. "Thank you for the compliment".

"Tamia, how did _you_ get to the Kingdom?" Michonne asked

She looked uncomfortable and Michonne immediately knew her family was dead.

"I'm so sorry" she said.

"It's ok" Tamia said, looking at Ezekiel. "I lost one family, but I found another. And to answer your question, I walked here".

Michonne opened her mouth in shock. "You walked here? From Atlanta?"

Tamia smiled proudly. "I did. By myself. And you were my inspiration. You were the only woman at the camp who really went out on runs with the men, who risked her life to feed us, to find weapons to protect us. I loved my mom, and she contributed by cooking, but I secretly wished you were my mom. When I was on the road by myself there were lots of times I just wanted to give up, and I thought what would Ms. Michonne do? She wouldn't give up. And I was right."

Michonne wiped away the tears that were rapidly falling from her eyes. She had no idea what an impact she had had on the young neighbor who lived next to her.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Andre. I'm sorry I couldn't save him for you. He was such a sweet kid. Maybe if I hadn't run away so fast, if I had checked your tent before we ran... maybe he'd still be alive..."

"Tamia" Michonne said, "come sit here". She patted the side of her bed next to her.

"If you didn't run, if you stayed to look for Andre, you would have died. He wasn't your responsibility, and I'm glad you didn't stay. You did the right thing. You did the best thing, because now you're here and you're alive."

Tamia nodded, wiping away her tears. Michonne pulled her over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you're here" she said.

Michonne finally looked at Ezekiel again "And I'm glad you found family who loves you". Ezekiel smiled and nodded at Michonne's compliment.

"King Ezekiel, can you send someone to bring my daughter back here? I will feel more comfortable with her being with me. I'm sure she misses me."

"Yes of course" he replied "I will send out a rider immediately to bring her and the little boy back. They should be here by tomorrow afternoon".

"Thank you" Michonne said "And thank you for protecting them"

Ezekiel bowed to Michonne slightly.

"And now daughter, we should let Ms. Michonne get some rest. Rest well Ms. Michonne" Ezekiel said.

"Good night Ms. Michonne" Tamia said, giving Michonne a kiss on the cheek.

"Yea good night mom, I'll be in the room next door ok?" Carl said, kissing Michonne on the other cheek.

"Good night" Michonne repeated.

Ezekiel opened the bedroom door and Tamia and Carl walked through it. Before Ezekiel shut it, he gave Michonne a smile and a small bow.

As soon as she was alone Michonne laid back in bed and was immediately asleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Michonne woke up the next morning a feeling of loss settled over her. It was the first morning that she hadn't dreamed of Rick. Although he had been physically gone for over a year, she now felt his absence in her spirit, and it was like he'd just left.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she didn't try to stop them. She let the pain and the grief and the anguish wash over her. She realized it was the only way she would really heal. She sobbed until her already sore abdomen hurt even more.

She heard the door open, and without having to look up she knew it was Carl. Without saying a word he sat down in the bed next to her and hugged her. Soon she could hear him sobbing too. She knew that he somehow knew what she was crying about. They had always had that kind of connection.

They cried in each other's arms for a while, until they were ready to stop crying.

"You didn't get to say goodbye to him" Michonne said knowingly "It might help if you do that. He's buried in the cemetery. I've taken Judy there before, but she's too young to really understand. But it might help you."

Carl nodded. "I'll go visit him"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the morning, all of the Saviors were taken outside and lined up on the grass. Blindfolds were put over their eyes. Negan was dragged out from the jail cell where he'd spent the night. He was still in his boxers, with blood covering his arms, even though his wounds were now stitched. A chain was attached to both of his feet, and then the chain was wrapped around a tree located in front of his men. Since he couldn't use either of his arms, there was no point in handcuffing him.

Carol had opened the blinds in Michonne's room so that she could see the scene from her bed. She saw how weak and hopeless Negan looked, and she felt some level of satisfaction from it. She did feel slightly bad for Negan's men, but she knew that this is how it had to happen. They had to eliminate the risk of these men coming back for them later. She knew they'd come back for her, and Judy, and Carl, and the people of the Kingdom. They had to die.

Michonne looked through the window and saw Ezekiel standing in front of the prisoners, summoning his knights to come forward. Each knight held a sword. Ezkeiel nodded his head and on command each knight shoved the sword through each of the prisoner's heads. They all collapsed on to the ground, dead. She was too far away to hear anything, but the lack of sound was somewhat eerie to Michonne.

She looked towards the tree that Negan was chained to. She couldn't see his face well, but she saw the droop of his shoulders, the way he sat back on his heels looking defeated. She hoped he felt what she felt when she saw Rick's dead body that day. She hoped he hurt.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carl had watched the execution of Negan's men, and he felt nothing but satisfaction. After the bodies had been dragged away, Carl spotted Negan chained to a tree. It was the first time he had gotten up close with Negan. Carl took in his unkempt hair that was turning gray, his sunburned skin, and the way his body was shaking in pain.

 _This man is pathetic. How dare he think he could hurt my mom? Humiliate her? Keep her and my sister living in fear?_

Carl strode over to Negan and stopped directly in front of him. Negan looked up at Carl and just stared.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Michonne's son" Carl said, glaring at him.

Negan didn't say anything further, but he looked Carl up and down skeptically.

"You're gonna pay for everything you did to her, and my father. Everything you took from her. You're gonna die over and over before you actually die. I'll make sure of it."

Negan seemed to understand a little more and a spark of recognition flitted across his face. "You're Carl. Judy's brother... Michonne went out looking for you, right after your father died. She searched for you for three fucking days. She used up supplies and resources to try and find your ass, and I made her pay for them. She had no rations for a week after that, because of you. And now you roll up in here like everything is ok? You hurt that woman just as much as I did."

Negan's words made Carl pause. As much as he hated to admit it, Negan did have a point. Carl had hurt Michonne too.

Carl suddenly thought of how all the men in Michonne's life had hurt her in some way or another. Rick had left her when he died, Carl had left her thinking he was dead, and Mike had let her down and didn't protect their son. Tears threatened to flood Carl's eyes, but he glanced back at Negan and quickly pushed them back. He couldn't let Negan know he was getting to him.

"I'll see you in a few days. Have fun out here, I hear the grass is extra prickly at night" Carl said, walking away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carl walked down to Alexandria's cemetery, a place that he unfortunately was well acquainted with. After the Wolves attack and the walker herd breaching the walls, many people had to be buried here. As Carl searched the many tombstones, he came across many names he recognized. He scanned the crosses that were stuck into the ground until he came across "Rick Grimes".

Rick's grave had already grown over with grass, and there were some dandelions growing here and there. Someone had brought flowers a while ago, and their withered remains were still scattered next to his cross. Carl wondered if it was Michonne or someone else.

Carl sat down next to the cross, and ran his fingers through the grass that was growing. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"Hey dad... I know I haven't been here since... Since everything. I'm sorry about what happened to you, and what I did after. I let my fear control me and I won't do that anymore. But I just want you to know that I'm here now. For Michonne, and for Judy. I'll take care of them. And we're gonna kill the man that hurt them. So if you were here to watch over them, to protect them, you can go now. You can rest now. Your family is safe. Bye dad. I love you."

Carl took out a knife from his pocket and leaned over to the cross. Under where Glenn had inscribed Rick's name, Carl added 'Father, husband, and leader'. He then patted the cross and walked away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After the Saviors' execution, Carol and Maggie came to help Michonne wash up and change her clothes. Her body was so sore and swollen she had trouble moving her arms and legs, and so she had to lay there as the two women gave her a sponge bath as gently as possible, which was still very painful to Michonne. Although it was extremely embarrasing, she was grateful to be clean and she thanked both of them. Once she was dressed, Tamia came to tell her that Judith had arrived, and within a few minutes Judy was bounding through Michonne's bedroom door, leaping into the bed.

Michonne was so happy she didn't care that Judy jumped on top of her, kicking a few bruises. Michonne barely registered the pain as she held her baby.

"Oh my Judy pie, my baby girl, mommy missed you soooo much. Did you miss me?"

"Yes" Judy said, kissing Michonne's cheek.

"Did you have fun at the Kingdom?" Michonne asked.

Judy nodded her head, but looked anything but happy. "Why didn't you come?" Judy asked her.

Michonne sighed. Before she could speak, Judy noticed the bruises on Michonne's arms. "Mommy did Negan hurt you?" she asked, pointing at the bruises.

Michonne's heart broke at Judy's words. Holding back tears Michonne explained "Yes baby girl, but you went to the Kingdom so you would be safe. I told you I would never let Negan hurt you, and he will never hurt me again."

Michonne quickly changed the subject before Judy could ask another question "Did you meet your brother?"

Judy nodded her head.

"He's the Carl I would tell you about every night" Michonne said.

"You have a brother named Carl who loves you so much" Judy recited. "I like Carl, he gave me a present"

"He did?" Michonne asked "What?"

"Sheets for my bed!" Judy said. "And mommy, he has a horse named Judy too! She's pretty"

Michonne smiled and stroked Judy's hair. "That's great baby" she said. "Did you eat?"

Judy nodded. "I ate the yellow things" she said.

"Yellow things?" Michonne asked confused.

"Negan ate them too. In the morning". Michonne racked her brain for what Judy could be talking about. _Yellow things that you eat in the morning?_ It suddenly hit Michonne. _Eggs._

"You ate eggs" Michonne said, both laughing to herself and feeling like she might cry. This poor girl didn't even know what eggs were, due to Negan's selfish point system.

Judy nodded.

"When I'm feeling a little better, I will make you eggs, and bacon, and toast, and anything else you want to try" Michonne said "would you like that?".

Judy nodded again.

"And pancakes too?" Judy asked.

Michonne smiled "yes and pancakes, with a smiley face on it."

"Can Carl eat with us too?" Judy asked.

Now a tear did roll down Michonne's cheek. "Yes, Carl can eat with us, every day."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Three days later:**_

Negan was left chained outside for three days. He was only given water to drink and looked generally miserable. Negan had a guard of four people who watched him around the clock. It had been decided that on the fourth day, Daryl would get to carry out his revenge of ironing Negan.

Michonne was now healed enough to be able to walk without upsetting the bruises on her legs and back. Her first outing from the house was to go to Negan's ironing. She walked, supported by Carl, because she occasionally had dizzy spells from her healing concussion.

Negan was unhooked from the tree and pulled to his feet. He still didn't have use of his arms, they were probably permanently damaged, but no one cared. He wouldn't be living long anyway. A crowd formed, surrounding him, and Daryl stood in the middle holding the same scolding iron that Negan had used on him.

"This punishment ain't shit compared to what you're gonna get later on" Daryl whispered to Negan, "Just don't pass out like a pussy". Without warning, Daryl pressed the iron to Negan's face. Negan let out a high pitched scream, flailing with his legs until he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Michonne looked at Daryl's face, thinking she'd see a smile or some sign that he was enjoying what he'd just done, but Daryl's face was blank. She could tell it hadn't been as satisfying as he expected.

Carol walked over to Daryl as Negan was dragged back over to the tree and chained there again, his face still smoking.

"You ok?" Carol asked Daryl.

"Gotta be" he whispered.

"No. You don't." she said, hugging him gently. She could see his eyes becoming red and wet with tears.

"C'mon" she said, dragging him off to where he could cry in private.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That night, Michonne invited King Ezekiel and Princess Tamia over for dinner at Negan's former house, which had been her former house. While she was on bed rest, Carl had taken the initiative to start fixing some of the damaged things in the house, starting with Judy's bedroom door. He knew the hole would always be a trigger for Michonne and Judy, so with the help of Glenn they had repaired the hole to the best of their ability. Carl and Abraham had also repainted the kitchen to hide the smoke damage from Negan's attempts at cooking.

When Michonne walked into her home she gasped. She couldn't believe how much work Carl, Abraham, and Glenn had done in just a few days. Even the rundown, stained, couch was gone, and a new one had been moved in from the house next door. Although she and Rick had made memories on that couch, she knew that it's departure was paving the way for a new chapter to her life.

The Kingdom, and even the Hilltop had agreed to donate the tribute that they'd normally give to Negan, to Alexandria, just for a few months until the town could get back on it's feet. That meant they were finally able to equally share food, the way they'd done when Rick was in charge.

For the first time ever, Judy was able to taste things like yogurt, chicken, even some squirrel casserole (Daryl's recipe). Things Michonne never was able to earn enough points to buy.

Michonne put the final herbs and spices into her chili that she was making for the dinner, and then let the chili simmer on the stove.

She carefully pulled herself up the stairs as she still had some very painful bruising, and made her way to the bedroom she had shared with Rick, which was now her bedroom again. As she entered the room, she closed her eyes and remembered how it used to be, how it used to look, when Rick's watch would be set in the cup on top of the dresser, how his gun would be set on the night stand next to his side of the bed, how his clothes would be littered all over the floor after they had a particularly amazing lovemaking session...  
She smiled at the memories, but then opened her eyes again.

 _This is your room now. Let him go._

She shed her clothing as carefully as she could, and then shuffled to the shower, to take her first real shower, in her own house, in a long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This chili is amazing!" Ezekiel said, slapping his lips a little too loudly as he ate. "You are quite the gifted chef Ms. Michonne." he said, smiling in Michonne's direction.

"Thank you" Michonne said, slightly embarrased by the number of compliments Ezekiel had given her that night so far.

"I like the chili too" Judy said, chiming in.

"Thank you baby girl" Michonne replied, patting Judy's head.

"Ms. Michonne, after all of this with Negan is finished, you and Judy should come visit us at the Kingdom for a while. We would love to have you." Tamia said.

"Yea mom, it would be great. I think everyone there would like to meet my mom. You'd be like a celebrity" Carl said.

"Like a queen" Ezekiel chimed in, and everyone paused at the implication of his words.

Michonne's eyes slowly rolled towards Ezekiel and he quickly looked away.

"I... I'm sorry, I didn't..." he stuttered, not knowing what to say.

"Can I be a princess?" Judy asked, breaking the awkwardness, as everyone chuckled.

"Yes my dear, you can be a princess" Ezekiel said to her, "just like Tamia".

They continued eating when Michonne broke the silence this time.

"Tamia, how did you get Carl to agree to get his hair braided? Talking to him about his hair is like talking to a wall".

Tamia smiled and reached over, stroking Carl's cornrows. "I told him he'd look like Snoop Dogg. He agreed immediately." she laughed, nudging Carl with her elbow. He made a face as if she had given away some sort of deep secret, so she began tickling him, causing him to laugh.

"That's a good one" Michonne said, "I should've thought of that"

"I also told him he looked like a girl" Tamia added.

"Oh I've used that one before, still didn't work" Michonne said.

They all laughed, filling the once oppressive house with laughter and warmth for the first time in a long time.  
"Carl" Ezekiel called "there is something I would like to tell you, I was waiting for the best time to bring this up, but there is no better time than the present, and especially since we are surrounded by such lovely company". Ezekiel's eyes quickly flashed towards Michonne.

"I would like to knight you" Ezekiel said. "You have most definitely earned the distinction and the honor. You have fought for the defense of the Kingdom as well as the King and the Princess, and I would be honored to give you that rank and title."

Carl just looked at Ezekiel. "Really?" he said.

"You have led my knights to victory, it should only be fitting that you are one of them".

"Wow thanks!" Carl said excitedly.

"After Negan's execution, we will have the ceremony"

Michonne wasn't sure what being a knight entailed and why it was so important, but she could see the joy on Carl's face, and so she was thankful. She gave Ezekiel a head nod of thanks, and a smile spread across his face.

XXXXXXXXXX

After dinner, Carl, Tamia and Judy sat in the living room. Tamia was sitting on the new couch with Carl laying down resting his head in her lap as his legs stretched across the rest of the couch. Judy was coloring on a sheet of paper with the crayons Carl had picked up on the same run where he'd found her Disney princess sheets a year ago.

As Michonne had gotten up to clear the plates from the table, Ezekiel had quickly volunteered to help her. As they passed Carl and Tamia, Michonne yelled to Carl jokingly "You put your feet in that couch Carl and we're going to have a problem". Carl chuckled and called "Yes mom", and he moved his feet off of the new couch.  
When Ezekiel and Michonne were alone in the kitchen he chuckled and said "you are quite a mom".

Michonne didn't know how to respond to that, so she quietly began washing the dishes as Ezekiel picked up a towel to dry them.

"Did you have children before this?" Ezekiel asked, and then his eyes got wide as he realized he was being too personal. Michonne glanced at him quickly and then her eyes went back to the dish she was washing.

"I... I'm sorry... sometimes I say the wrong thing when I'm nervous... and being around you makes me nervous. I apologize...", he looked down for a moment.

"I did... I had children before this" Ezekiel continued. "I had a daughter and a son. Kayla and Kyle, twins. They went to California with their mom, my wife, a quick vacation, just a week. I stayed home because I had to work. And then everything fell apart. I knew I would never see them again. California might as well be Australia."

He looked down, and Michonne saw him wipe a tear from the corner of his eye.

"I'm sorry" she said, sincerely.

He nodded. "Thank you".

"I did too" she said "I had a son, Andre. He died". She didn't know why she was opening up to Ezekiel, she hadn't told anyone about Andre except Carl and Rick, and of course Tamia knew, but somehow in her soul she knew she could trust him.

"I'm sorry too" he said.

Michonne washed the dishes and Ezekiel dried them in a comfortable silence, until Michonne asked "Why did you make yourself a king?".

Ezekiel chuckled as if recalling a funny memory. "It was a nickname at first. When we first found the school building it was just me and 5 other people who I'd found along the way. There was no clear leader of our group, we just worked together. Once we started finding more and more people, it became clear that we needed one leader to organize things, and since I naturally took on that roll the others started calling me their king as a joke. Eventually the nickname became a title, and they would tell others who joined the group to call me King Ezekiel, so I went with it."

Michonne was suddenly lost in thought. She didn't know what to think about that explanation. She didn't like anyone who made themselves higher than the people around them, but she could see that Ezekiel wasn't a tyrant. He had proved that he took everyone's opinions into equal consideration, and that he didn't make decisions without the people's input. He was practically a king in title only.

When she looked up she realized Ezekiel was staring at her with a look that she could only interpret as admiration. It shocked her to see someone look at her like that. Only Rick had looked at her like that. She was immediately uncomfortable and she took a few steps back, away from the sink.

"We... we'd better check on them" she said, stuttering, and she turned around quickly and went back into the living room, leaving Ezekiel standing in the kitchen by himself. She didn't know why he made her so uncomfortable. He didn't say anything wrong, he didn't do anything wrong, but she felt slightly unnerved when she was alone with him.

A few seconds later, Ezekiel emerged from the kitchen behind Michonne. "Well it is getting quite late. Perhaps it's time for us to retire?" Ezekiel said to Tamia. Tamia yawned and nodded in agreement.  
"Wait you're leaving?" Carl asked Tamia, still laying across Tamia's legs "Mom, can't Tamia stay here for a little bit? She can stay in my room" Carl said.

Michonne looked at Ezekiel awkwardly. She didn't know what Carl and Tamia were allowed to do in the Kingdom, and Carl was pretty much an adult, living and surviving on his own for a year without her, but she felt strange allowing Carl and Tamia to sleep in the same room in her house.

"Tamia is an adult, she may choose to stay where she sees fit" Ezekiel said, looking at Michonne. "If it is ok with Ms. Michonne of course".

Tamia, seeing that this whole situation was tense and awkward, pushed Carl's head off of her lap so she could stand. "I'm going to sleep in my tent" Tamia said, leaning down to kiss Carl gently "I'll see you in the morning Carl". Carl gave a small pout that reminded Michonne of Rick.

Michonne, liking Tamia more and more by the second, walked the two of them to the front door. She gave Tamia a hug and kissed her on the cheek as she walked out the door. As Ezekiel walked out the house he stopped in front of Michonne.

"Thank you for the wonderful dinner" Ezekiel said gratefully. Michonne nodded.

"Ms. Michonne, if it is ok with you, may I kiss your hand?" he asked. Michonne froze. She felt uncomfortable again. She was about to say no when she looked into his eyes and saw that he didn't have any ill intentions. She relented.

"um... ok..." she said softly.

Ezekiel gently took one of her hands and brought it up to his mouth, staring into her eyes the entire time. He pressed his lips to the top of her hand, and then gently put her hand back down.

"Good night Ms. Michonne" he said, still looking her in the eyes. He then bowed and politely closed the door behind him.


	17. Chapter 17

As soon as Ezekiel closed the door, Carl called, "And what was that?". Michonne jumped. She had forgotten he was in the living room for a moment and she had leaned against the wall by the doorway and sighed as soon as the door had closed.

She snapped her head towards Carl's voice and he was standing in the hallway looking at her. She quickly pushed herself away from the wall and walked past Carl into the kitchen. "What?" she said, stalling for time, as she washed the last dish.

Carl followed her into the kitchen. "You and Ezekiel, what was that?" Carl asked again, not letting her off the hook.

"It was nothing" Michonne said.

"You let him kiss your hand" Carl said somewhat accusingly.

"I didn't... he..." she sighed "Yea" she admitted.

"Do you like him?" Carl asked, sitting down at the kitchen table as if he were going to be here a while.

Michonne sighed again. "Carl I don't know him. I'm not worried about him right now. We have other things to deal with and..."

"But you like him" Carl said, smirking.

"Stop" Michonne answered, drying the dish she just washed.

"You said you don't know him, but I know him. I lived with him for a year. He was almost like a father to me. If you want to know about him I can tell you." Carl said.

Michonne turned around to face Carl. "Can we drop this?" she asked, "Please?".

Carl smirked again. "Ok mom. But just so you know, it's ok if you do like him. I'm ok."

Michonne wiped her hands on the dish towel, and put her hand on Carl's shoulder, gently guiding him out of the kitchen. "Lets go put Judy to bed" she said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Michonne woke up in her bed. The warm sunlight shown through her window, casting the room in a beautiful golden glow. She rolled over on to her back and partially expected to feel Rick next to her, just for a second.

 _He's dead Michonne. He's dead, she reminded herself._

She sighed and dragged herself to the shower. Because she was still recovering, she didn't really have many duties for the next few days, but she still wanted to get used to keeping a regular schedule. After her shower she checked on Judy who was fast asleep in her room. Michonne watched her and saw that Judy was getting way too big for the crib that she slept in. Although the girl was small for her age due to her dietary restrictions early on, she had to sleep curled up in a ball in order to fit in the too small crib.

She really needs a bed. Michonne thought. Maybe Judy could just sleep with her from now on.

Michonne headed downstairs to get started on breakfast, but was startled when Carl was sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey mom" he called over his shoulder, not bothering to look up.

"Hey Carl" she responded. "Why are you up so early?"

He held up a small block of wood that he was carving with a knife. Michonne stepped over to look at it. She could see he was carving a bear's face out of the wood.

"Wow Carl, this is amazing!" Michonne said, moving her face closer to the wood to get a better view.

"How did you learn to do that?" She asked in shock.

"Ezekiel" Carl said smugly, giving Michonne a knowing look. "He taught me. It helps me to relax. Not think of things. Y'know?"

"Yea" Michonne said, trying to ignore Carl's gaze. "It's beautiful. Is that for Tamia?"

"Yea. She likes bears" he said.

Michonne grinned, "that's sweet" she said, turning to look for some oatmeal in the cabinet. "What are your plans for today?"

"Well Tamia and I were gonna go hunting, some of the Knights said they saw large herds of deer up the road so we were gonna try and get some. Then, Ezekiel asked me to sit in on a meeting he's having with some of the messengers from the Kingdom, about how things are going back at home."

Michonne turned to look at Carl. "Home?" She asked, "do you think of the Kingdom as your home?"

He seemed thoughtful. "I guess. I've lived there for so long... But I wont leave you again mom. I won't do that."

Michonne turned the stove top on to boil a kettle of water, and then sat at the table across from Carl. "Do you want to live there?" She asked.

"I won't leave you again" Carl repeated.

"Carl" Michonne said softly. "What makes me happy is your happiness. I'm so relieved to know that all the time you were away you were ok, you were living, thriving. I want you to be where you'll be happiest. So, do you want to live there?" She asked.

Carl looked down at his sculpture. He felt in some ways like he'd grown up in the Kingdom. He had lived there longer than he'd lived in Alexandria. He had become a man there, and found the girl that he loved. He had become a leader.

"I do, but I won't leave you and Judy here alone" he said, determined.

"Ok" Michonne said "after this stuff with Negan is done, and he's gone, Judy and I will go visit the Kingdom. If it works out well, maybe we can move there, or if anything, visit for a few months out of the year".

"You'd do that?" Carl asked, shocked "you would leave this home?"

"You are my home" Michonne said.

Carl smiled. " I know you'll like it there".

The kettle started whistling and Michonne got up to turn off the fire. Just then, Judy called from upstairs "mommeeeeeee! I'm awaaaaake!". Carl and Michonne both laughed. "I'll get her" Carl said, rushing up the stairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Negan woke up, he was in the worst pain he'd ever felt in his life. His face felt like the skin had been ripped off, and the burns covered his nose and mouth so he was having trouble breathing. He moaned loudly, unable to control the cries of agony. He could only see out of one of his eyes, as the other was melted shut. But when he opened the good eye he could see the guards staring at him. He lifted up his head a few inches. "Help... me..." he managed to get out, but they either rolled their eyes or ignored him.

He lowered his head back down to the floor in total defeat. His face and arms hurt so badly he wished he'd pass out again. He closed his good eye and lay still, willing himself to just die. After a while he had a feeling that someone was watching him, someone besides the guards. He slowly opened his eye a fraction and could make out the outline of a woman, blocking his face from the sun. He didn't have to open his eye all the way to know it was Michonne.

He closed his eye again completely and mumbled "come... to... gloat?"

She didn't answer him, and her silence made him open his eye again to make sure she was really there to begin with.

She was looking down at him with a look that he couldn't interpret. She didn't look like she was enjoying seeing him like that, but she didn't look sorry either. His eye studied hers. He had always thought her eyes were beautiful and showed so much expression. His eyes wandered downwards towards the rest of her body. Her perky breasts, her flat stomach, and toned thighs. Her dark chocolate skin.

 _Damn she's gorgeous._

Negan couldn't believe that after all this time, after her living in his house for months, her cooking for him, washing his clothes, being his advisor. After all this time he finally realized how lucky he'd been to be in her presence. He realized that he blew it, maybe he could've had her if he had treated her right, took care of her instead of making her take care of him, if he hadn't been so selfish, so ruthless. He had treated this woman so cruelly.

A feeling came over him that he hadn't felt in such a long time. Regret. He regretted hurting her. As she stood over him, watching, he felt the urge to say something to her.

"I'm... sorry" he forced his lips to say, "I... hurt you... sorry"

He saw her eyes widen in shock. She obviously wasn't expecting that. She still didn't say anything, but that was ok.

"Please... kill me... now" he whispered.

"Your punishment isn't over" Michonne finally responded "and you deserve everything you get"

"I deserve it" he said "but... can you... be... the one?"

She understood what he was saying, he wanted her to be the one to kill him when the time came. She didn't know how she felt about that. She didn't think he deserved to get to pick how he wanted to die.

 _Rick didn't get to choose_ , she thought.

It had already been established that he would be hanged after he got a public flogging, but looking at him now, she knew he'd never survive a beating. He had on the same pair of boxers for days now, they were covered with a mix of dirt, blood, and urine because he had no use of his hands to relieve himself properly. He smelled badly and he'd lost at least 10 pounds since he hadn't been fed for days. The purpose of the flogging was to humiliate him the way she'd been humiliated, but she could see he was already broken. He couldn't be brought lower than he already was.

 _Maybe we should skip the flogging and execute him next._

She stared at him and he looked back at her, and she saw the regret in his eye. It was unnerving. Without responding, she turned around and walked away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Carl and Tamia made their way down a game trail on the backs of the horses, Judy and Ghost. As they rode, they scanned the surrounding forest for any sightings of deer or any other small mammals. They had been looking in silence for 30 minutes when Carl broke the quiet.

"So what's going on with my mom and your dad?" he whispered. Tamia's head snapped to look at him.

"Something's going on with them?" she asked.

"At dinner, did you notice how he kept smiling at her? And then he called her a queen? And how nervous both of them were around each other? Plus, he kissed her hand!"

"Wait... what?" Tamia said, shocked. "Where was I?"

"You had walked out the door already. But he asked to kiss her hand and she let him. That's a big deal for Michonne."

Tamia was quietly thinking back to the night before. Her father _was_ overly happy after they left the dinner.

"You think... you think they like each other?" Tamia asked.

"Maybe... I tried to ask my mom but she wouldn't answer. But after Negan's execution, she and Judy are gonna come back to the Kingdom to visit. And she said she'd consider staying there".

"Really?" Tamia said, excited. "That'd be great"

"Would you want them to get together?" Carl asked Tamia. She looked thoughtful as she considered the question.

"My father has been alone for a long time. I know he had a family before everything, and he doesn't talk about them much, but I think he deserves to be happy. I love Ms. Michonne, and I love my father. And if they decide they want to be with each other I would be happy."

"Yea, me too" Carl said. "So... maybe we should help them along?"

"Carl. Don't go meddling in their love life. If they like each other, let them figure it out on their own." Tamia said sternly.

"Yea. I guess you're right" Carl said, slightly disappointed. "I just think they'd make a good couple. I like your dad, and I know he likes my mom... but I'll leave it alone." he said, going back to searching the woods.

"Good" Tamia said

"For now..." Carl added.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After asking Maggie to watch Judy for a little while, Michonne headed over to where the people from the Kingdom had set up their tents. She wanted to talk to Ezekiel about skipping the flogging, and executing Negan ahead of schedule. She figured it might do everyone good to have him gone once and for all, but she didn't want anyone to feel like they'd been cheated out of something.

She wandered through the tents until she finally asked someone where Ezekiel was. They pointed her in the right direction, and she was pleased to see that Ezekiel's tent looked just like everyone else's, a standard camping tent that could fit two, three people tops. The door to the tent was zipped, so Michonne called through the fabric.

"Ezekiel?" there was no answer. "Uh... King Ezekiel?" she asked, a little self consciously.

She could hear movement inside the tent. "Just a moment" he called. Michonne took a step back as the tent was unzipped and Ezekiel crawled out. When he saw her face he smiled. "Ah, Ms. Michonne. Good morning. To what do I owe the pleasure?".

Michonne took a moment to observe what Ezekiel was wearing. He had on a gray button up shirt with the arms rolled up to his elbows. His shirt was tucked into black slacks. He looked like he was about to go to work at an office, not like he'd just been inside of a tent. One thing that she noticed was absent was the ridiculous looking cape that he'd worn the past few times she'd seen him. Without his cape he looked more normal. Her eyes moved up to his face. He had locs that were turning gray at the roots, and he had a mustache and beard that was completely gray. She guessed he was about 12 years older than she was, but for an older man he was in pretty good shape. His arms, chest and legs seemed muscular and toned from what she could see. She moved up to his eyes and was startled to see he was staring back at her.

 _Oops._

Embarrassed, she quickly started talking. "I saw Negan today. He... he looks like he's not gonna live much longer. If we do the public flogging like we planned, it'll most likely kill him. I wanted to request that we skip that and just execute him."

Ezekiel looked at her, surprised at what she was saying. "You don't want to flog him? I thought... that was what you suggested was it not?" he asked.

"No, actually it was Carl that suggested it. But I know that he asked for it because of what Negan did to me. I understand he wanted Negan to pay, and he has. It's time for him to die now."

Ezekiel nodded. "It is your decision Ms. Michonne." he said, "I think you and your family have suffered more than any of us, and if you decide that it should end now, I will of course support your decision."

Michonne nodded as well. She was about to turn around to leave when her mind went back to the bear Carl was carving. "Carl told me you taught him how to carve" Michonne said.

"Yes, and he has quite surpassed my skill at that. I was never prouder to have a student surpass me." Ezekiel said with a smile.

"Thank you" Michonne said.

"For what?" Ezekiel asked.

"For taking care of him, for taking him in. For teaching him something that helps him cope, and for treating him like a son. He needed that right after he lost his father. I'm glad he found it in you."

"You are quite kind Ms. Michonne. And the pleasure was all mine"

"Michonne." she said "You can just call me Michonne."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After Michonne had explained her point of view to Carl, he reluctantly agreed to forgo Negan's flogging. He was angry when Michonne suggested she be the one to kill Negan, Carl had wanted to do the deed, as payback for Rick's death, but Michonne could see that if Carl did it it would change him. He had come so far from where he was after Rick's death, and she didn't want him to go back to that. He was happy now, content, and she wanted to spare him from any more pain.

"What if we compromise?" Michonne said.

"How? We kill him together?" Carl asked.

Michonne shook her head. "No. I kill him, using your katana" she said softly.

Carl was thoughtful for a moment. "He doesn't deserve to die quickly" Carl said "he deserves to suffer slowly."

"Yes, yes he does" Michonne said "but can you agree to this, for me? I need him to be gone. So we can all move on. So we can just live. He needs to be out of our lives."

Carl nodded. "Ok. Ok mom. If it's what you need."

Michonne smiled and pulled Carl to her, a tear running down her cheek. "Thank you Carl".

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Right before sunset, Negan was unchained from the tree and pulled to his feet. He moaned in pain and almost collapsed, but the guards held him up until he could stand on his own. The vision in his one eye was blurry, but he could make out many people around him. And then, he saw a familiar outline. Michonne.  
He squinted his eye until his vision was clearer, and he could see she was holding a katana.

 _When I first came here she had one. I don't remember what happened to it. I probably gave it away. How'd she get another? Doesn't matter anyway, she's gonna fucking kill you. Finally. Fuck. At least I get a sexy final view._

Negan's thoughts made him smile slightly.

"Any last words?" Michonne asked him.

"Yea... Thank you..." he said.

"Fuck you" Michonne responded, and she spun around, getting enough momentum to slice her katana through Negan's neck, beheading him.

There was a cheer from the crowd as Negan's body crashed to the floor and his head rolled a few feet away. Michonne, not acknowledging the cheers, walked over to Carl and gave him the bloody katana. Looking into his eyes she said "it's over now Carl. Now we get to live."

Carl nodded, tears beginning to spill down his cheeks. Michonne quickly wrapped her arms around his middle, and he leaned down and rested his head on her shoulder. The two of them cried, not caring who saw.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three days later, Michonne, Judith, and Carl were packing for their trip to the Kingdom.

"Mommy, can I bring my princess sheets?" Judith asked.

"Yes honey, you can bring your princess sheets, put it in your bag" Michonne replied.

"Yaaaay!" Judy said, running into her room to get her sheets.

As Michonne packed her bag she realized she didn't have much to bring with her. A couple of shirts, two pairs of pants, underwear, some spare bullets... That was all she had besides this house, and her children. It was funny how the end of the world made you realize what was really important in life.

She quickly put her meager belongings into a book bag and headed downstairs to the kitchen to grab some snacks for the trip. Carl was already packed and lounging on the couch with Tamia.

"Mom" Carl called "Do you want to ride in one of the wagons, or on a spare horse? We have a few."

Michonne smiled. She hadn't ridden a horse since the prison. Not since her horse Flame got eaten by walkers after they'd lost everything.

"Judy can ride in the wagon. I want a horse" Michonne said.

"Ms. Michonne, I didn't know you rode" Tamia said.

"I learned" Michonne said, stuffing some apples and peaches into her bag. "How long is the trip?"

"About 3 hours" Carl said, "but we stop a few times to let the horses drink and to eat lunch"

Judy loudly made her way down the steps, dragging her little bag behind her. "I'm ready mommy" she said.

"Ok baby" Michonne responded.

"Judy do you want your crayons so you can color in the back of the wagon?" Carl asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes!" she said, excited.

Tamia picked up the little doll that Daryl had made for Judy off the end table in front of the couch. "And don't forget your doll Judy, can she ride in your bag?" Tamia asked.

Judy nodded, and Tamia carefully put the doll into Judy's bag. "Now you're ready" Tamia said, smiling. Judy smiled back.

"Ok, let's go" Michonne said.

They all walked out to the front gates where the rest of the people leaving for the Kingdom were waiting. The rest of their family was there as well, coming out to say goodbye. They all hugged Maggie, Glenn, Sasha, Carol, Daryl, Abraham, and Rosita before Michonne lifted Judy into the back of one of the wagons, and she, Carl and Tamia mounted their own horses.

Before leaving, Ezekiel rode his horse over to Michonne's and whispered "Are you ready Ms... um... Michonne?"

Michonne nodded and smiled, "Yes. I am."

 _ **Author's note: Thank you to everyone who read and wrote a review for this story. I really appreciate it. As requested by 1 I tried to write some things from Negan's perspective too. The next chapter will probably be the last one. Thanks again!**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**This is the last chapter of this story. Hope you like it! If you have any prompts for future stories, just leave it as a review!**_

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It was a long ride to the Kingdom, and by the time they arrived everyone was exhausted, except for Judy who had slept for almost the whole ride. She had to be woken up and force fed lunch, but as soon as she was back in the wagon she was off to sleep again. Michonne had laughed to herself, she wished Andre had been like Judy, he'd always stay awake for long car rides, usually to Michonne's frustration.

As they approached the school building Michonne could see how the Kingdom got it's name. The school did resemble a large brick castle. Michonne took in the large gates that were surrounding the perimeter. It seemed fairly safe and Michonne was impressed by how high the gates were. As the caravan of horses made its way into the gates she could hear people calling and waving to Ezekiel, and he waved back, like a King coming home to his people. Michonne's naturally cautious nature made her apprehensive about such a welcome, but when the people happily ran out of the building to greet Ezekiel and the knights, she got the feeling that they were sincerely happy for the caravan's safe return.

Michonne dismounted her horse and walked to the back of the wagon where Judy was rubbing her eyes. "Are we there yet?" she asked. "Yes baby girl, we're there" Michonne replied, picking her up.

Michonne and Judy spotted Carl and Tamia talking to a group of teens their age, and as Michonne made her way over she heard the questions they were asking Carl.

"That's your mom?" one of the kids asked.

"Yea" Carl said.

"Wow" another kid said. "She has hair like King Ezekiel"

"Does she hunt too?"

"Is she the one that taught you to use a katana?"

"Is that your sister?"

The kids started bombarding Carl with questions. They were excited, but she could tell Carl was getting a little annoyed. Suddenly, Michonne heard Tamia yell "Hey!" and the teens all stopped.

"We just had a really long journey. Let us relax for a little bit before you attack us. Ok?" she asked.  
The kids nodded and they turned to walk off, giving Michonne and Judy curious looks.

"Thanks for the save" Carl said to Tamia, kissing her cheek. "That's what I'm here for" she responded jokingly.

"Well, you did say I'd be like a celebrity" Michonne said, finally reaching the two.

"Yea, they'll give you an hour or two but believe me, they will be asking you questions for a while" Carl said, laughing.

"So Ms. Michonne, I know you and Judy must be tired from the trip. I'll find a room for the two of you so you can rest. Later tonight we're going to have a party for our guests of honor."

When Michonne looked a little confused Tamia elaborated.

"You and Judy of course. To welcome you here."

"Oh... um... ok" Michonne said.

Just then, Ezekiel finished talking to some of the people and came over. Tamia said to him "I was just going to show them to their room".

"It's ok Tamia, I'll take them" Ezekiel said, and Tamia nodded.

Michonne and Judy followed Ezekiel into the school. The inside was very big and spacious, and she could tell that the people took a lot of care in keeping it clean. As they walked past people in the halls, the residents would wave or greet Ezekiel warmly. Some even bowed. When they bowed to her, it made her uncomfortable.

Ezekiel eventually stopped in front of a door marked 'Teachers lounge'.

"We usually use this as a smaller dining area, but you and Judy can stay here. It is quite spacious and comfortable, and there are two couches to sleep on. For privacy you just need to move the couch in front of the door and no one can come in. It also has it's own bathroom with running water if you'd like to wash up."  
Michonne nodded. "Thank you Ezekiel".

He smiled and looked into her eyes "You're very welcome Michonne, and thank you for deciding to join us, at least for a little while."

Michonne turned and walked into the lounge. It was quite big and had a lot of space. "Judy do you want to take a nap?" Michonne asked already knowing her answer. "No!" Judy said "I took a nap already".

"Ok" Michonne said. "If you're not sleepy, I'm gonna at least wash you up and do your hair so you look and smell nice for the party tonight."

"Ok" Judy said "can you do my hair like a princess?"

Michonne laughed "Ok baby, I'll do your hair like a princess"

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A few hours later, both Judy and Michonne were clean and smelling good. Judy's long brown hair was pulled into a high pony tail, and Michonne then braided the ponytail into four long braids. Judy loved this style and from that day named it 'princess hair'.

Michonne had also pulled her hair into a ponytail, a style that she hadn't seen on herself in a very long time. While she was doing her hair in the mirror she realized she could still see on her shoulders and upper back, the faint outlines of the bruises she'd received from her beating. It made her self conscious, and she almost wanted to put her hair back down to cover it, but she forced herself to stop.

 _You have to live._

A knock on the lounge door startled Michonne. She opened it and saw the face of Tamia. She was holding a large garment bag. Michonne moved to the side so Tamia could enter the room.

"Hi, I didn't know if you guys were sleeping or something, but I wanted to give this to you. I know you probably don't have anything packed for a party, but we gather clothes every time we go on runs, and... well... I thought this would be perfect for you and Judy. I think it's your sizes. If you don't want to wear it it's fine".

Tamia handed Michonne the bag. Michonne laid it out on the couch and unzipped the garment bag, revealing a dress. Michonne pulled it out of the bag and gasped. It was a thigh length, sparkly silver cocktail dress. It had a strap that crossed over one shoulder and was accented with silver sequins.

Before Michonne could say anything, Tamia reached into the garment bag and pulled out a silver children's dress in the same color as Michonne's.

"Is that for me?" Judy asked.

"Yes, this one is for you Judy. So you can match your mommy." Tamia said.

Michonne, feeling self conscious once again, started with "I can't..." but Judy, excited, interrupted her with "Mommy! can I put it on? Please?"

Michonne, unable to resist Judy's excited dance, helped her into the dress. It did fit her perfectly. Judy spun around in circles, lifting the dress so that when she spun it flared out around her.

Michonne realized it was the first time Judy had ever worn anything like that. Michonne thought of how proud Rick would be to see his baby girl in a beautiful dress, twirling around happily. Michonne's lip began to tremble, and Tamia noticed. "I'm sorry Ms. Michonne... did I do something wrong? If it's too much, what you have on is fine".

Michonne held up her hand. "No. No. I'm just... I'm happy, to see Judy like that. That's all." she said.  
Tamia smiled "I brought shoes too"

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Michonne pulled on the dress Tamia had brought her and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. It was stunning. She loved the way she looked. She sat on the toilet seat cover in the bathroom and put on the silver shoes that Tamia had brought her. As she stood, now in heels, she felt like a different person. She felt vulnerable. She was sure she'd be able to take down a walker in this outfit, but it'd be a little more difficult. But, in some ways she also felt free, alive, grateful that she could enjoy herself at some frivolous party instead of working herself to the bone for some applesauce.

She stepped out of the bathroom to find Judy sitting on the lounge floor playing with her wooden doll. Tamia had gone back to her room to get ready for the party herself.

When Judy looked up and saw Michonne she said "Wow mommy, you look like a princess too!". Michonne smiled. "We can both be princesses tonight".

Michonne sat on the couch, watching Judy play until there was a knock at the door. She opened the door to see Carl, dressed in a shiny silver dress shirt and black dress pants. Tamia must have done his hair again because it was neatly braided back into 5 rows. He looked quite handsome. Michonne smiled at him and his face turned a slight shade of red.

"She... she made me wear this" Carl said.

"She has good taste" Michonne said.

"You do too" Carl said, noticing her silver dress "You look beautiful"

"She picked this out for me... and Judy" Michonne said, stepping away from the door so that Carl could see the dress his little sister had on.

"Wow Judy, you look beautiful too" Carl said.

Judy, happy to get any compliment she could, got up and did a spin for Carl. "See? I can spin it and it puffs out!"

Carl laughed. "Are you guys ready?" he asked.

"Yep. Come on Judy, you don't want to miss the party right?" Michonne called.

Carl scooped up Judy in one arm, and held the other arm out for Michonne to take. She proudly wrapped her arm around her son's and the three of them made their way to the party.

"Tamia and Ezekiel are already there, they had to be to greet the guests, but they are going to do a special welcome for you and Judy" Carl said.

"A special welcome?" Michonne asked, she started to feel self conscious again.

"It's ok mom, I'll be with you. Ok?" Carl asked.

Michonne nodded. As they reached the school gym where the party was taking place, they were asked to wait by the doors as someone ran in to tell Ezekiel they were here. Michonne realized she was more nervous now than she was fighting off a herd of walkers. She wasn't used to getting so much attention.

She heard Ezekiel's loud booming voice from behind the door. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have received word that our guests of honor are now here. So help me to give a warm Kingdom welcome to Carl's mother, Michonne. And Carl's sister, Judith."

The doors opened and Carl, gently patting Michonne's arm to reassure her, led her and Judy into the gym. There were at least 100 people in there and they were all standing and clapping to welcome them. Michonne felt her heart racing but she was also touched that this many people would come to welcome her and Judy. Carl led her to the front of the gym where Ezekiel and Tamia stood in front of a large table where she assumed the guests of honor would be sitting.

Both Ezekiel and Tamia had on silver outfits, Tamia had on a silver strapless knee length dress that had toole that puffed out at the bottom. Very age appropriate Michonne thought.

Ezekiel had on a british style tightly fitting silver suit that hung well in all the right places. His long locks had been wrapped up into a bun at the back of his head. Probably Tamia again Michonne thought. The only flaw in his outfit was his cape that he now wore over his suit. Michonne internally rolled her eyes. _He's got to get rid of that cape._

Ezekiel's eyes caught Michonne's as Carl was leading her over. She could see his mouth literally drop open before he caught himself.

He eventually took a quick sweep of her body and then focused on the audience again.

"As you all know, Carl has been instrumental in our community. He has hunted for us, he has fought for us, and he was instrumental in bringing down Negan, as was his mother, Michonne." Ezekiel looked over to Michonne with a smile. "And so we are honored to have Carl's family here with us, and we welcome them as if they were our family." Ezekiel reached down and grabbed a cup that could only be described as a goblet. As he reached for his, everyone else picked up a cup, and Carl handed one to Michonne.

"To family" Ezekiel said, raising his glass towards the audience and then turning to gaze into Michonne's eyes. "To family" everyone else repeated, clinking their cups together. Michonne clinked glasses with Carl and Tamia. She then moved closer to Ezekiel to clink glasses with him when he whispered "You look stunning Michonne".

"Thank you" she whispered back.

After the toast, food was served buffet style, and all the guests lined up to get their share. It was a banquet, apocalypse style. There were bowls of different types of beans, tuna, spam, canned applesauce which Judy avoided like the plague, rice, various kinds of soup, and some fresh meat that the hunters had brought in. It wasn't a gourmet meal, but Michonne and Judy were grateful for every spoonful.

As they sat down at the table with Carl, Tamia, and Ezekiel, Michonne couldn't help but notice the color coordination of their outfits. Although everyone in the room were dressed in their best, no one else had silver on.

Michonne looked over at Tamia. "So... silver huh?" Michonne said suspiciously.

Tamia looked up from her food sheepishly. "Well, I figured you're Carl's family, so you're our family. And a family matches, right?" Tamia said, shrugging her shoulders. Michonne wondered if Ezekiel was also in on the color coordination plot.

"Michonne, how do you like the Kingdom so far?" Ezekiel asked seemingly oblivious to what Michonne was implying.

"I haven't seen too much of it yet, but from what I've seen it looks secure."

"Silly me, of course you haven't, you've been in your room since you've gotten here. If you'd like, I could take you on a tour after the party."

Carl was looking from Michonne to Ezekiel with a smirk on his face. It was an obvious date invitation. Tamia just stared at her father, and Judy obliviously continued eating.

Michonne could feel her face turning red, especially with the way Carl was staring at her. She liked Ezekiel, she could tell he was genuinely a good man, but she was still nervous about going on a date with anyone but Rick. A part of her would always feel that way. But she knew she came here, to the Kingdom, to try to move on from her past. She had to try. She had to live.

"I would like that" Michonne said.

"I'll watch Judy" Carl volunteered, making it clear that Judy wasn't coming along on this date.

Michonne looked over at Carl with a look that said.

 _So you're in on this too._

The group continued talking at the table when a small band came out with instruments. The people clapped as the band set up and began to play fast songs, getting everyone to get up and dance. Carl finished eating his food and reached out a hand to Tamia, and the two of them quickly went off to join the fun. Judy was still happily munching on her dinner, but Ezekiel had finished his.

"Go dance" Michonne suggested, "I'm gonna wait here until she's finished".

Ezekiel looked as if he didn't want to leave her, but he then nodded and stood up from the table, giving Michonne and Judy a small bow. He then walked onto the dance floor to join his people. As Michonne watched him she realized he actually was a good dancer. He was on beat, and he had a little two step going that made her smile. Occasionally he would spin around and go back to the two step, but he looked comfortable like dancing was his element. Michonne watched as an old woman grabbed his hand to dance with him, and he spun her around in circles making her laugh. His people then began clapping as he and the old woman danced together. As the song ended he gave the woman a hug to the applause of everyone.

Michonne looked down and Judy was still munching on some beans. "Are you almost finished baby girl?" Michonne asked. "This is good mommy" Judy said "I like it here". Michonne realized Judy wasn't talking about the food. "You like the Kingdom?" Michonne asked "Yes. It's fun" she said. Michonne smiled. Well, both Carl and Judy were sold on this place. It wouldn't hurt to give it a real try.

"Are you done eating? Do you want to dance?" Michonne asked her. "Yes!" Judy said excitedly. Michonne got up from the table and led Judy to the dance floor where Ezekiel was now dancing with Tamia to another fast song. Michonne and Judy stood nearby and Michonne began dancing holding Judy's hand. Judy, still holding Michonne's hand, started twirling letting her skirt billow out like she'd done in the room. Michonne smiled and moved her hips to the song as Judy danced. Soon, Carl joined them and the three of them held hands dancing together in a circle. Out of the corner of her eye Michonne could see Ezekiel looking over at her. The look in his eye made her heart speed up a bit. She saw Tamia stand on her tippie toes and whisper something into his ear. He looked back at Tamia and smiled and then made some kind of signal to the musicians.

They ended the current song and began playing a slower song as someone got up to sing. As Michonne listened to the music she realized she knew the song. It was "You and Me" by Lifehouse. Couples started forming on the dance floor as people found someone to slow dance with. As if this was a pre-planned cue, Carl, who was formerly dancing with Judy and Michonne, quickly snatched Judy up. Tamia, who was dancing with Ezekiel, walked over to join Carl and Judy, and Carl began to slow dance with Tamia while holding Judy. Michonne and Ezekiel were now standing by themselves. Michonne held back a smile as she realized what Carl and Tamia were doing. Her eyes flitted over to Ezekiel as he stood shyly as if he were afraid to make the first move.

Michonne began walking over to him and he met her halfway. "May I have this dance Michonne?" he asked. "Yes" she said confidently. He reached out and gently held one of her hands, while the other hand held her waist. She put her free hand on his shoulder and they began to move to the music. As she danced with him she noticed how gentle his hand felt, and how he was leading her as they danced. The singer broke into the chorus.

 _'Cause it's you and me and all of the people_  
 _with nothing to do, nothing to lose_  
 _and it's you and me and all of the people_  
 _and I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you._

She smiled, brought her face a little closer to Ezekiel's and said "You realize our children are trying to hook us up right?"

He laughed and held her a little tighter. "Really? Well I did notice when Tamia just demanded that I stop being a wimp and dance with you."

Both of them broke out into uncontrollable laughter.

When the laughter subsided he asked "how do you feel about that?"

 _All of the things that I want to say_  
 _just aren't coming out right_  
 _I'm tripping on words_  
 _You got my head spinning_  
 _I don't know where to go from here_

Michonne sighed. She really didn't know how to answer that question. She thought she was ready to try to open herself up again, but what if she wasn't? She didn't want to hurt this man. He was a good man, and she didn't know if she could give him what he wanted.

He seemed to understand that she was struggling to put her thoughts into words. "You don't have to answer that" he said. "I just want you to know that I think you're an amazing woman, an amazing mother, and a warrior... and I... I'm blessed to have met you."

 _'Cause it's you and me_  
 _and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to prove_  
 _and its you and me and all of the people_  
 _and I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you_

"I can answer the question" Michonne began "I think... I think I might be ready to try again. I don't know for sure, and I don't want to hurt you, all I can do is try. That's all I can give for now."

 _Something about you now_  
 _I can't quite figure out_  
 _everything she does is beautiful_  
 _everything she does is right_

Ezekiel smiled and pushed her slightly closer to him with the hand that was on her waist. "Michonne, besides you, I haven't met a woman that I've wanted to open up to, since my wife. Everything that you're saying, I understand, because I feel the same way too. We can try, together."

Michonne nodded. "Ok"

The song ended, and everyone started to clap. Ezekiel and Michonne were still rocking side to side even though the music had stopped. Carl and Tamia watched them curiously, and a few seconds later they realized the song was over and began to clap as well.

Carl smirked "It worked"

"You think?" Tamia asked

"Yea, look at them. And if that didn't work, the next part of our plan will."

Tamia laughed. "Who knew you were such a match maker?" she said, nudging Carl in the side.

"You should know" he said, kissing her.

Judy, who was still in Carl's arms said "Ewwww" and pushed his head away from Tamia. Tamia and Carl both burst into laughter.

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After the party Michonne kissed Judy and Carl goodnight and she went with Ezekiel for a tour of the Kingdom. He had offered her his arm, so they were walking arm in arm. Michonne liked the way his arm felt warm and soft, but she could also feel the muscles just underneath. She realized that she was attracted to him, and that realization scared her a little bit.

They walked in silence for a while until they reached the door that lead outside to the back of the building. Ezekiel opened the door for her and Michonne walked though into a large open space. It was pitch black. Ezekiel reached over and turned the lights on illuminating a large garden. There were many beautiful flowers growing, but there were also edible plants as well, tomatoes, squash, lettuce, carrots, eggplant and various other vegetables.

"It's beautiful" Michonne said.

"This is my favorite place to go in the Kingdom" he said "when I want to just sit and think. When Tamia first came here she was traumatized and scared. She would sleep fully clothed with her shoes on, ready to run, not trusting anyone. It was a while before she even spoke. When I saw her, she reminded me of my own daughter, Kayla. Every day I would invite her to come out to the gardens with me, but she'd always decline, staying in her room, barely eating. One day I was sitting out here and she just walked out here, and sat next to me. She didn't talk, she didn't tell me about what happened to her, but we just sat. She felt comfortable enough to just sit with me, and that was enough."

Michonne looked at Ezekiel as a tear fell from his eye. He wiped it away and continued his story. "After that day she'd come out here with me every day. Sometimes she'd speak, sometimes she wouldn't, but over time, as she trusted me more and more, she'd share more and more. One day I asked her if she'd like to be my daughter, and she said yes, and that was that. From that day she was mine, and I was hers."

As Michonne listened to his story she smiled, it sounded similar to her relationship with Carl, except Carl and Rick were the ones to bring her back from her trauma.

"Sometimes we all just need someone to sit with" Michonne said, reaching out and putting a hand on Ezekiel's arm. He looked over at her hand and then his eyes moved to her face and he smiled. "Indeed".  
They stood in silence for a while until he said "May I show you more?". "Ok" Michonne said, taking his arm as he lead her past the gardens. He pointed to the football field and said "that's where we keep, breed, and raise our horses. They're our most valuable resources". They continued walking and Ezekiel lead her to a series of small shacks.

"This is where we create our weapons. We have a blacksmith, Torry, who creates our swords, and wood workers who make our bows and arrows."

"Torry!" Ezekiel called. Quickly a strange looking man shuffled out of one of the shacks. He looked like the stereotypical mad scientist, with his crazy hair, large glasses, and apron. "King Ezekiel!" he said bowing. "And... Ms. Michonne?" he asked.

Michonne gave Ezekiel a questionable look. How did this man know her name? "Um... we've had a discussion about you" Ezekiel said. Ezekiel nodded at Torry and he hobbled away into one of the huts. Ezekiel turned back towards Michonne who was a little upset.

 _Why was he discussing me to this man? What did they talk about?_

"I asked him to make you something" Ezekiel said quickly. Michonne's face immediately softened. "A present" he added. "I admit, Carl was most helpful in telling me what you needed...", but he stopped talking as Torry came back outside holding a brand new katana.

Michonne's mouth dropped open in surprise. It was almost a replica of her old one, down to the designs on the hilt. Carl must have drawn a picture of what the old one looked like.

As Torry handed the katana to a smiling Michonne, she reached out and gave him a hug. "Thank you for making this for me Torry, it's beautiful" she said. He smiled and then hobbled away. Michonne turned to Ezekiel who was watching her happy face with joy. "And thank you too Ezekiel" Michonne said, giving him a hug and then giving him a kiss on the cheek. He seemed surprised by the affection but grinned from ear to ear.

"I'd do anything to see you smile like that again Michonne" he said, gazing into her eyes, "Anything".

As Michonne looked at him she saw that familiar look of adoration that he had given her before in the kitchen, but she also saw something else. Desire. And she felt it too. Before she could overthink it, Michonne leaned in and pressed her lips to his. He immediately responded, pressing his lips back to hers and wrapping his arms around her waist. They stayed like that for a while, not deepening the kiss, just getting used to being in each other's arms.

After a while she pulled away and smiled at him shyly. "You're the first woman I've kissed since... since the end." he admitted "I'm a little rusty...". "No. It was good" she said "It was nice".

"I know we've both lost someone that we loved. I know you loved Carl's father and you probably didn't think you could live without him. And I lost my wife, and I certainly didn't think I could live without her. But we are alive, and we are living. What we could have, won't be the same, but it could be ok". As Ezekiel spoke, Michonne nodded slowly.

"Michonne, may I ask you a question?" Ezekiel said, looking a little nervous. "Ok" she said, not knowing what to expect. "May I court you?" he asked earnestly.

Michonne busted out laughing and Ezekiel looked at her nervously. "I'm... I'm sorry" Michonne said catching her breath, "I didn't mean to laugh... but who says court anymore?... I'm not laughing at you, just your choice of words..." Michonne joked.

Ezekiel chuckled, "as you can see I'm quite old fashioned". "Really?" Michonne asked, "I haven't noticed." And both of them began laughing.

"But it's adorable" she added, looking more serious now. "And yes, you may court me... if you promise not to wear that cape anymore".

Now it was Ezekiel's turn to bust out laughing. "For you, anything".

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The next morning Michonne woke up in the teacher's lounge. Judy had stayed the night at Carl's so Michonne was alone. She was glad, because she had time to re-examine her date with Ezekiel. She felt like she learned a lot about him last night. Just like she had experienced the loss of Rick, he had experienced the loss of his own wife, and they both were trying to heal from it. She thought he was sincere and thoughtful, and she knew that he was a good father, but she didn't think he would ever be Rick. Rick was her soul mate, and she didn't think she'd ever find that again.

 _'What we could have, won't be the same, but it could be ok._ '

She wanted to see if what he said was true. If it could possibly be ok.

Michonne rolled off the couch and stretched her tight muscles. She wished there was a shower, maybe there was a working one in the locker rooms by the gym, but for now she had to settle for washing up in the sink. As she cleaned herself and got dressed she reflected on her kiss with Ezekiel. She was glad he didn't try to push the kiss any further than it had gone. She was taking it slow and so was he and she admired that. His lips felt warm and soft, and she wouldn't mind kissing him again.

While she reflected on Ezekiel's lips and kissing technique there was a knock at the lounge door. "Just a minute" she called as she quickly got dressed.

She opened the door to see Carl and Judy waiting for her. "Mommy!" Judy yelled, climbing from Carl's arms into Michonne's. "Good morning sweetie" Michonne said, kissing her forehead. "And good morning Snoop Dogg" Michonne joked, kissing Carl's forehead. Carl laughed so hard spit came out his mouth. "Very funny" he chuckled.

She let them into the lounge and closed the door.

"So?" Carl said, obviously waiting for a recap of the date. Michonne reached over and grabbed the katana, bringing it out so Carl could see. "Thank you so much Carl" she said, and suddenly burst into tears. Not expecting that reaction, Carl quickly got up and hugged Michonne as Judith watched concerned.

"Mommy are you ok?" she asked. "Yes baby, I'm just happy" she sniffled, "come give me a hug Judy". The three of them came together and had one group hug.

Michonne wiped her tears and sat on one of the couches, and Judy and Carl sat across from her. "Thank you for giving me this present Carl, it means a lot".

"It wasn't all me, Ezekiel asked what you would want, something meaningful to you, so I drew a picture. Everything else was all him... but how was the date besides that?" Carl pressed.

Michonne rolled her eyes. "Carl, I'm not gonna go into details with you."

"Ewww" Carl said, "I don't want details like that. I just want to know if you like him, can you see yourself being with him?"

Michonne looked at the floor for a little bit and then back to Carl. "Yea... I do. I can. He asked if he could court me." Michonne revealed.

Carl looked confused. "What does that mean?"

"Its an old word for dating" she explained.

"Oh wow! Go King Ezekiel!" Carl said, impressed.

"Where's Tamia?" Michonne asked.

"Probably having this same conversation with Ezekiel" Carl said, and the two of them laughed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next night was Carl's knighting ceremony. Just like before, everyone gathered in the school gym. Carl was dressed in the riot gear that the knights wore. He bowed to Ezekiel, and Ezekiel bowed back. Carl then kneeled in front of him.

"Carl has proved his bravery, and loyalty to the Kingdom, to the king, and to the princess. He has led by example and has provided for the people, he has proven his morals and his merits everyday, and has proven himself worthy to be recognized."

Ezekiel raised his sword above Carl's head. "I hereby knight thee, Sir Carl" Ezekiel said, lowering his sword to each of Carl's shoulders. "Rise Sir Carl, and acknowledge your people." Carl turned around and the crowd went wild yelling and screaming as they clapped for him. Michonne was so proud of Carl. She made her way over to him, kissed him on the cheek and hugged him. Judy did the same. After all he had been through, he was every bit worthy of such a distinction.

Michonne's eyes teared as she thought of the things Carl and Judy would miss out on in this life. They'd never graduate high school or go to college, they'd never save up to buy their first car or their first home. They'd never be able to travel around the world, or have a normal life. But they could have ceremonies like this. Things were different, but they could be ok.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Two weeks later:**_

Michonne had gotten into the swing of life at the Kingdom. She took up the job of training others to use the katana. Not including Carl, there were three other people who had katanas at the kingdom and they had various levels of skill, none as high as hers. They eagerly came to class ready to learn from the infamous Carl's mother. Training others also brought her skill level up higher since it had been so long since she had used her own.

After a particularly grueling training session, Michonne came back to the lounge exhausted and sore. Judy was still at the Kingdom's preschool classes. As she walked over to the couch to simply drop there and take a nap, she noticed flowers on the table in a vase. She smiled and walked over to read the note left next to the vase.

 _I'm sorry I broke into your room, but being King has it's advantages. I left a present as payment for your annoyance. I just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you Michonne._

 _King Ezekiel_

She leaned down and smelled the flowers. They were from his garden. Smiling she looked in the vase and realized there was no water in there. She walked over to the sink in the bathroom and saw that he'd left another note on the mirror.

 _No, I didn't forget to put water in the vase. I just wanted to let you know that you are the most beautiful, lovely woman I've ever met and I ran out of paper on the first note, so I wrote a second._  
 _King Ezekiel_

After reading the second note Michonne laughed. The guy does have a sense of humor she thought as she turned on the faucet to fill up the vase. She placed the flowers in the vase and then plopped down in the couch. Totally exhausted, she stared at the flowers until she fell asleep.

A knock on her door woke her out of a deep slumber. She rubbed her eyes and hopped up, opening the door to see Carl, Judy, and Tamia.

"Hey guys" Michonne said sleepily, letting them all in. Tamia was the first to notice the flowers on the table.

"Awww, you guys are so cute" she said, smiling. Michonne laughed.

"Ezekiel is going hunting with me and Tamia today" Carl said, "We're gonna leave in a few minutes, wanna come with us to say goodbye to your hubby?" Carl teased.

Michonne picked up a pillow and threw it at him. "You keep teasing Sir Carl, and I just might tell Tamia some of the more embarrassing things I learned about you when we were living on the road..." Michonne threatened.

"Do tell..." Tamia said, moving closer to Michonne.

Carl's eyes got wide and he held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry, I won't tease" he said.

Michonne laughed and then added "but I will go with you to say goodbye"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Michonne, Tamia, Carl and Judy all made their way to where Ezekiel was preparing to leave to hunt. Although they were only leaving for a few hours, Michonne liked to come to say goodbye before any of them left the safety of the gates. She had already said good bye to Carl and Tamia. Ezekiel, who was already on his horse quickly dismounted when he saw Michonne. He walked up to her with a smile and held both of her hands.

"Did you get my notes and flowers?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you, it was sweet" she replied.

"Sorry about breaking in" he said

"No, you're not" Michonne replied

He chuckled "You know, I'm really not".

Both of them laughed. Michonne moved in closer to him. "Be safe out there. Come back in one piece."

"I'll always come back for you." he responded.

They gazed into each other's eyes and Ezekiel's eyes silently asked her if it was ok for him to kiss her. Michonne nodded slightly and they kissed, but for the first time both of them opened their mouths to explore more of each other. Michonne could feel his tongue circling the inside of her mouth, tasting her, and she tasting him. For a moment Michonne was lost in the kiss, forgetting that she was outside, in front of her kids, and that others could be watching. She could tell Ezekiel was lost too as he gripped her waist, pushing her even closer to him.

Carl clearing his throat shocked both of them out of their haze. "Um... lets keep it rated G for the little ones, and those who don't want to be scarred for life" he said, pointing to Judy and himself. Tamia just had her hands over her eyes. "I apologize" Ezekiel said, clearing his throat. He quickly turned back to Michonne and winked and then hopped up on his horse. Carl and Tamia followed suit.

"Bye!" Michonne and Judy called after them.

As Michonne turned around she was startled to see Carol and Sasha walking towards her in shock.

"Boy did _we_ miss a lot" Carol joked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Michonne was in her lounge with Carol and Sasha, catching up on what was going on at Alexandria while Judy was taking her nap. The women told her that they had begun planting more crops again, but they were still relying heavily on going on runs and tributes given by the Kingdom and Hilltop to keep a steady amount of supplies.

They said they had come to visit to see how she and the kids were doing here. Maggie wanted to come but she didn't have anyone to watch Hershel.

"So how are you Michonne? Seems like you got a little thing going over here" Sasha said, leaning in to make sure she didn't miss any of Michonne's facial expressions.

Michonne smiled but she was embarassed, she didn't intend for she and Ezekiel's first tongue kiss to be viewed by all of the Kingdom plus her Alexandrian friends too.

"Yea... we're uh... dating" Michonne said, fidgeting.

"Well good for you" Carol said "You deserve to get back on the pony"

"And ride it till dawn" Sasha threw in.

Both women laughed hysterically while Michonne put her hand over her face.

"So is he good?" Carol asked, leaning in like Sasha had.

Michonne looked uncomfortable enough that both women got the hint that they hadn't had sex yet.

"No way!" Sasha said "you gotta sample the goods. I mean, what's the point if he's a let down?"

"We... we've just been taking it slow. Both of us have had losses and we wanted to slow it down" Michonne explained.

"Slow it down, yes, but don't go at a snail's pace" Carol said. "Life's too short".

"That's funny coming from you" Michonne threw back "You and Daryl just officially got together like two minutes ago"

Carol's mouth dropped open and she held her hand to her chest in fake shock, as Michonne and Sasha laughed hysterically.

"Yea well at least when we did I rode that pony for all it was worth" Carol said, and Sasha all but fell on the floor with laughter.`

Michonne realized how much she missed her extended family, and having conversations like this.

"So do you love him?" Sasha asked Michonne.

Michonne stopped laughing. She had been asking herself that same question for a while now, and she'd never been able to come up with an answer. Did she love him? Honestly she wasn't sure.

Michonne thought for a moment and then said "maybe"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **Two weeks later:**_

Michonne and Ezekiel tied their horses to a tree next to an open clearing. He hadn't told her where they were going, he just said he had a surprise for her and to trust him, so she blindly followed him on her horse, Flame II. They had ridden 30 minutes away from the Kingdom, and through some trails that Michonne had never been through, so she was a bit nervous, but she trusted him. This made her realize that she trusted him completely.

He smiled at her and held her hand as they walked into the clearing. The open space was flooded with sunlight, and flowers of various colors grew everywhere, almost like a colorful blanket was thrown on the ground. This place looked completely undisturbed by walkers or people.

"This is... beautiful" Michonne said.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you" Ezekiel whispered, bending down to pick up a blue flower and tucking it behind Michonne's ear "but this isn't even the best part" he said, holding her hand and continuing to walk.  
They walked for a few more minutes until Michonne could hear the sound of rushing water. They walked through some thick bushes until they opened up to another clearing, and Michonne gasped. There was a beautiful waterfall in front of them that fed into a shallow pool.

"This was the real surprise. I thought it would be nice to eat some food here in front of the second most beautiful view I've seen in a long time. You being the first." he said.

"Wow, it is beautiful" Michonne said. Ezekiel led her over to sit on a rock while he went back into the deep bushes as if he were looking for something. To her amazement he pulled out two beach chairs that had been hidden in the bushes, as well as a bag containing food.

"You really had this planned out didn't you" Michonne said, looking at him in awe.

"Oh yes, I told you I'd do anything to see you smile and I meant it"

He led her over to the chair and she sat down. He then reached into the bag and pulled out fruits, and a whole homemade pound cake. Michonne's mouth dropped open in wonder.

"Where did you get that?" she asked.

"Well, the Hilltop has started making butter from the milk they have, and so I traded quite a few bow and arrows to them for a pound of butter, and some milk and eggs and flour, and used it to make a pound cake."  
"I didn't know you knew how to make cake from scratch" Michonne said in shock.

"Michonne, there are things about me that you haven't yet discovered, but I want you to. And there are things about you that I haven't discovered, and I'm aching to." He murmured. He leaned down to kiss her and she hungrily accepted, both of them moaning as the kiss deepened and they felt need running through them.

"Wait, wait" Ezekiel said, halting their progress. "As much as I want this, this isn't why I brought you here. I brought you here to have some food and enjoy the view. I don't want you to think..."

"Shut up" Michonne said, leaping on top of him in the chair. "I want this, you want this, lets do this. We can eat later." Ezekiel maniacally shook his head yes as they kissed full out now, letting go of all of their fears and worries and only being in this moment, with each other.

Ezekiel's hands started to wander down Michonne's body, past her waist to her butt where they stayed, squeezing passionately in time with their kissing. Michonne ran her fingers through Ezekiel's locs pulling them as she got more turned on. He moaned into her mouth and she gently bit his lip, pulling it with her teeth.

He stood up suddenly, picking her up with him, and he turned around, laying her down on the beach chair as he climbed on top of her. He pressed himself on top of her and she couldn't believe how good it felt, it had been so long since she'd made love to a man that she was in love with.

And that was when it hit her, she was in love. She had fallen in love again, something that she never thought would happen for her, never again. He wasn't Rick, and it wasn't the same, but it was ok. It was better than ok. She was happy.

Before she knew what was happening, tears started rolling down her cheeks. Ezekiel didn't notice at first, he was too busy kissing her, but once the tears made their way to his face he realized she was crying. He stopped immediately and sat up.

"Honey... I'm sorry... did I hurt you?... I..."

Michonne held up her hand to stop him from speaking.

"No! You didn't do anything wrong, I'm crying because I'm happy. You make me so happy. I... I love you."

Ezekiel's eyes opened wide. He looked at Michonne as if he were just seeing her for the first time. "I love you too Michonne. So much. I never thought I'd be in love with anyone again, but I do. And I'm happy too. I have been for a long time, I was just waiting for you to feel that way too."

"I want you" Michonne whispered.

"Oh Michonne" Ezekiel moaned "I've always wanted you"

They resumed their kissing but it was definitely more feverish this time. Ezekiel laid kisses on her neck and the parts of her chest that he could reach with her shirt still on. Impatient, Michonne pulled her shirt off, and Ezekiel eagerly reached behind her to remove her bra. With her breasts now free, Ezekiel paused to admire them, smiling down at her like a kid in a candy store. His expression made Michonne laugh, and she grabbed the back of his head and pushed it downwards on top of her chest, moaning as he greedily licked between her breasts and underneath them before going straight for her nipples. She moaned in pleasure as he licked every inch of her chest, and wherever his tongue couldn't be, his hands made up for it.

As he was preoccupied with her breasts she reached down and grabbed his crotch, causing him to suck in a breath and freeze. She could feel him throbbing, and she could tell he was big.

"It's been so long" he whispered "Years. I'm afraid I won't last very long." He looked ashamed.

"Neither will I" Michonne groaned, reaching between them to unbutton his pants. Ezekiel, taking the hint quickly rolled off of her and took his shirt, pants, and boxers off while Michonne got rid of her pants and panties. For the first time, they looked at each other completely naked.

The muscles that Michonne was feeling under his shirt were now visible and she liked what she saw. He was big and toned, and his dark skin against the afternoon sun almost made him glow. His hardness was thick and long, and she couldn't wait for him to be inside of her.

 _Damn I want him_ she thought _._

As she studied him, he looked down at her in wonder, taking in every curve of her body, the flatness of her belly, the roundness of her bottom, and the obvious wetness between her thighs.

 _Damn I want her_ he thought.

He crawled back on top of her and positioned himself at her entrance. She closed her eyes in anticipation, but he stayed there at her entrance. Her eyes snapped open wondering what was taking so long, and she saw him staring right at her.

"Please Michonne, keep your eyes open, I want to look at you"

She nodded and tried to keep her eyes open as he entered her. It had been so long for both of them that they had to stop moving for a while. She had to get accustomed to him, and he had to regain his composure. As they waited, he stared into her eyes intensely, wanting to see into her soul if he could. After a few seconds she nodded her head, and he continued pushing into her, causing her to gasp and close her eyes. Remembering what he asked she opened them again and he was now fully inside of her.

He leaned down to kiss her and she melted into him, wrapping her legs around him and running her hands down his back. "Oh Michonne" he moaned, and he began thrusting into her slowly, trying not to hurt her. "Harder. Please!" she moaned "I'm not gonna last long". "Me neither" he whispered, and he started going harder, throwing caution to the wind.

Michonne could feel her insides fluttering already, and her impending orgasm was causing him to reach the end as well. Her toes curled and the muscles in her legs began to spasm as she shook with a violent orgasm. Her back arched and her face contorted into a silent scream. Just watching her shaking underneath him caused Ezekiel to cum and he barely had time to pull out before he let go. Afterwards he collapsed on top of her and the two of them laid there exhausted, arms and legs entwined on the beach chair. Their heads pressed together with their locs twisted around each other.

After the shock and exhaustion wore off, Michonne's stomach began to growl. She looked down at Ezekiel who's head was now contentedly resting on her chest and who was stroking one of her locs and said "So how about that pound cake?" causing both of them to laugh hysterically.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _ **A year later:**_

The wedding between Michonne and Ezekiel was the talk of the town for Alexandria and the Kingdom.

Anyone who was anyone would be there, and there was a lot of pressure and planning on the Kingdom's part to make it happen. Which meant there was a lot of pressure put on Michonne and Ezekiel, but luckily for Michonne, her family Maggie, Carol, Rosita, and Sasha had arrived at the Kingdom two weeks early to help her prepare, and she was eternally grateful.

Now it was the wedding day, and Michonne stood outside of the school gym nervously circling. Carl was standing right next to her, rubbing her back while Judy looked on.

"It's ok mom, you're going to be ok, just breathe" he repeated.

Michonne nodded her head and took deep breaths. She had never come so close to having a panic attack before.

"I'm ok" she managed to say. "I'm just nervous"

"Obviously" Carl said, and she playfully swatted at him.

"Ok. I can do this." she said again.

"You can do this mommy, you love Ezekiel" Judy chimed in, happily shaking her 'princess hair' style that Michonne had done for her just for this occasion.

"You can mom, and you'll make a great queen" he said.

"And you'll make a great prince Sir Carl" Michonne said to him.

She leaned down and kissed Judy's cheek "And you'll make a great princess".

Michonne could hear trumpets sounding from inside the gym and she knew it was time. Carl held out his arm for her, and she grasped it confidently, keeping her head high. Judy went first, throwing white rose petals on the ground ahead of Carl and Michonne. As Judy, Carl, and Michonne walked passed the residents of the Kingdom they all bowed to them out of respect, and even some Alexandria residents bowed as well. That in itself almost brought Michonne to tears.

She looked forward as she approached the front of the gym where Ezekiel, Tamia, and the rest of the wedding party were standing, but Michonne only had eyes for Ezekiel. Tamia had once again color coordinated the family and everyone wore white, but Ezekiel looked quite handsome in a white linen shirt and white linen pants. He wore a large gold medallion around his neck, and an actual crown, made by Torry the blacksmith. His locs were back in a ponytail and Michonne thought he looked very handsome.

As she walked towards him Ezekiel couldn't help but gasp. He had never seen a woman look so beautiful, not even his first wife. Her locs were curled and made beautiful ringlets down her back, and her dress was mermaid cut with a long train in the back that dragged behind her. As she approached him he couldn't stop staring at her eyes, her beautiful eyes, that were looking at him with pure love and joy.

All he could think was _my queen is here_.

As they met in the front of the gym they clasped hands together and gazed into each other's eyes. After they said their vows, there was a coronation ceremony where three cushions were placed in front of Ezekiel. Michonne, Carl and Judith all kneeled on the cushions. Ezekiel first picked up Michonne's crown, smiling at her as she smiled back. He placed the crown on her head and whispered "I love you my queen". He then helped her up and turned her around saying to the crowd "I present to you Queen Michonne!". There was applause and wild cheering.

Ezekiel then placed a crown on Carl's head, helped him up, and turned him around. "I present to you Prince Sir Carl!" There was more applause and cheering, and Tamia whistled with her fingers.

Ezekiel then got a smaller lighter crown and placed it on Judith's head. He helped her up and turned her around. "I present to you Princess Judith!" and the crowd went wild with the cheers. Judith just smiled and waved.

After the Grimes family all received their titles, Father Gabriel then pronounced Ezekiel and Michonne man and wife. Everyone went crazy as Ezekiel wrapped his arms around Michonne and looked into her beautiful eyes, and the two of them kissed passionately. Michonne couldn't believe that after all she'd been through, she could have this happy ending.

Before the reception party began, Ezekiel stood up to make an announcement, waiting for the large crowd to quiet down before he began. Michonne looked up, surprised, from her chair. She didn't know he would give a speech.

"Today my wife, Queen Michonne, joins my family, but I also join hers. I will always love my daughter Princess Tamia, and my new children Prince Sir Carl, and Princess Judith. But Carl and Judith had another father before me. A brave man, who saved them, and my wife Michonne, and kept them alive and together for so long. A man that died because he defied Negan, a man that was respected by all that knew him. I didn't know him, but my family wouldn't be here today if not for him. I would like to have a moment of silence for Rick Grimes."

Michonne immediately burst into tears, totally overwhelmed by what Ezekiel just said. Carl and Tamia came over, holding on to her, and then Ezekiel came over and she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest sobbing.

All of the Alexandrians were crying as well, and the moment of silence sounded more like a moment of sobbing. After a few minutes Michonne finally stopped crying and looked up at Ezekiel, her face still wet.

"Thank you so much" she croaked. "I love you always". "I love you always my queen" he said, hugging her.

When her face was clear, and the other Alexandrians got a hold of themselves, Michonne and Ezekiel made their way to the dance floor for their first dance. When the band started playing "You and me" by Lighthouse, Michonne smiled and looked up at Ezekiel. The two of them sang the lyrics to each other as they danced and gazed into each other's eyes. At the last verse, Carl, Tamia and Judith joined them and they all danced in a big group hug.

 _What we could have, won't be the same, but it could be ok._ _ **It is ok.**_


End file.
